convince
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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to persuade; cajole.
We finally convinced them to have dinner with us.
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Obsolete. to prove or find guilty.
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Obsolete. to overcome; vanquish.
verb
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(may take a clause as object) to make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something; persuade
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to persuade (someone) to do something
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obsolete
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to overcome
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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”; victor
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But there was a moment, when this man was boarding the bus, that the footage showed him in profile – this moment was what convinced police it was Stephen McCullagh.
From BBC
The moves also are convincing Arab states they might need to deliver some punishment to re-establish deterrence, people familiar with the matter said.
She denied telling Madison's mother she was a nurse and also denied suggestions she had "convinced her" the prone position was appropriate.
From BBC
“She is the one who convinced me that ‘doing things by halves’ was ‘not necessarily the best way to approach it.”
From Los Angeles Times
He convinces the driver he's the one who booked the fare, but that the destination has changed and he has to go to Lisburn - right to McCullagh's front gate.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
