convince

American  

[kuhn-vins] / kənˈvɪns /

verb (used with object)

convinced, convincing

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

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

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

One must wonder whether these flashy ads do more to stoke his base rather than convince the massive number of undecided voters frustrated with Bass to join his cause.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Moulin will need to convince finance committees in the upper and lower houses of parliament not to veto his appointment.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

Both players are aiming to convince Tuchel that they deserve their place in the England squad and, in particular, as the first choice in the number 10 role.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

The result is predictable: backlogs of unreviewed papers and editors scrambling to convince anyone—anyone at all—to review them.

From Slate • May 3, 2026

I could tell by the big monkey’s actions that apples were just what he wanted for breakfast, but he couldn’t seem to convince himself that everything was all right.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

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