convince

American  

[kuhn-vins] / kənˈvɪns /

verb (used with object)

• convinces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• convinced,
  past participle,  past
• convincing
  present participle

1. to move by argument or evidence to belief, agreement, consent, or a course of action.

   Ample evidence convinced the jury of his guilt.

   A test drive will convince you that this car handles well.

   Synonyms:

   satisfy

2. to persuade; cajole.

   We finally convinced them to have dinner with us.

3. Obsolete. to prove or find guilty.

4. Obsolete. to overcome; vanquish.

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convince British  

/ kənˈvɪns /

verb

1. (may take a clause as object) to make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something; persuade

2. to persuade (someone) to do something

3. obsolete

   1. to overcome

   2. to prove guilty

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Usage

Convince, an often stated rule says, may be followed only by that or of, never by to: We convinced him that he should enter (not convinced him to enter ) the contest. He was convinced of the wisdom of entering. In examples to support the rule, convince is often contrasted with persuade, which may take to, of, or that followed by the appropriate construction: We persuaded him to seek counseling (or of his need for counseling or that he should seek counseling ). The history of usage does not support the rule. Convince (someone) to has been in use since the 16th century and, despite objections by some, occurs freely today in all varieties of speech and writing and is fully standard: Members of the cabinet are trying to convince the prime minister not to resign.

The use of convince to talk about persuading someone to do something is considered by many British speakers to be wrong or unacceptable

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• convincement
  noun
• convincer
  noun
• convincibility
  noun
• preconvince
  verb (used with object)
• reconvince
  verb (used with object)
• convincible
  adjective
• unconvincible
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• convincing
  present
• convinced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• convince
  simple
• convinces
  simple
• have convinced
  perfect
• has convinced
  perfect
• am convincing
  progressive
• are convincing
  progressive
• is convincing
  progressive
• have been convincing
  perfect progressive
• has been convincing
  perfect progressive

Past

• convinced
  simple
• had convinced
  perfect
• was convincing
  progressive
• were convincing
  progressive
• had been convincing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will convince
  simple
• will have convinced
  perfect
• will be convincing
  progressive
• will have been convincing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of convince

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin convincere “to prove (something) false or true, (somebody) right or wrong,” equivalent to con- con- + vincere “to overcome”; see victor

Explanation

"How again was it that you convinced me to do this?" the boy said to his friend before they jumped out of the plane on their first sky dive. Convince means to talk someone into something, or win someone over. A person convinces by making an argument—you can convince your parents to let you go to the movies by promising you'll do all your homework the next day. A thing can convince as well. The cash prize convinced me to enter the contest. The threat of failure convinced the kids to study.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

convince convinces convinced convincing

But first Flávio must convince voters to treat him as a stand-in for his father.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

If restaurants, breweries or liquor companies want people to spend money, they have to convince them the experience is worth the cost.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Krook: It took two years to convince him that that was a good idea to sit in the middle of the pyro and do this, but to his credit he did.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Tottenham manager Roberto de Zerbi said in July that he wanted to convince Spence to stay at the club.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

She’d help him convince his mom and dad they were all wrong.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The sort of meal that costs very little but somehow convinces you otherwise.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026

He convinces his childhood best friend to let him co-host his son’s wedding alongside a “younger and flashier” wedding MC — played by Gold —who had already been hired.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

He gives me a virtual hug and convinces me to convince my husband that the pancakes in the freezer should be saved for my return and a new batch prepared for today’s breakfast.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

On bad days, she says, she convinces herself that “doomscrolling flat on my couch is what helps my back heal.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026

James Armistead, spying for the Americans, convinces General Arnold that he will spy for the British.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

Comparisons with modern spadefoot toads eventually convinced him that the differences represented something else entirely.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

One juror told the media that she and her peers didn’t buy the “holdover” explanation, and weren’t convinced by mostly circumstantial evidence connecting Rinderknect to the original fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

While the makers of these apps insist they are “future exchanges,” not digital gambling parlors, regulators in places like Singapore, France, Belgium and elsewhere aren’t convinced and have banned the platforms altogether.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

Thousands of interviews convinced the company that people often want their own food, even when eating with others, incoming CEO Joe Jordan said in an interview.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Slowly, Malone convinced Crandell that the earthquakes were indeed coming from Mount St. Helens.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

Airbnb built a multibillion-dollar hospitality platform by convincing travelers to “forget hotels.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Those arguments are less convincing in the face of the accelerated automation that artificial intelligence appears ready to unleash.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Persuading those already at the summit to choose the Premier League - and convincing those who reach it there to stay - remains the harder task.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Unfortunately, for some people, this strategy seems to be convincing.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

He looks like he's regretting convincing his mom to play.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Related Words

• assure
• get
• persuade
• prompt
• prove
• satisfy
• sway