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

This has helped convince investors that the index now has the all-clear to move higher, given these stocks’ tremendous influence over the direction of the S&P 500, he added.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

“Before the clinic it was hard to convince them to play, but once they started learning you could tell they wanted to win,” said Vallverdu, of her friends.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Opposition from just those two confederations is unlikely to be enough to unseat him, and so efforts are currently being made behind the scenes to convince countries elsewhere to join the rebellion.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Their scrappy determination helped convince family members, neighbors and eventually the rest of the country that the Constitution’s guarantees of liberty and equality applied to same-sex couples.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026

But try as I might to convince my aunt of this, she seemed to think I was being dramatic.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

In Yitzak Shalev’s novel, a Jewish teacher in 1930s Jerusalem convinces students to join him in an underground military group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

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

“I’ll be fine,” I tell her in a voice that barely convinces me, let alone Helen.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Shares of Palantir Technologies were soaring Tuesday morning after the company delivered another strong quarter that has some analysts convinced that it is winning the artificial-intelligence race among software names.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

But Sophie, an introverted milliner, never asked for anyone’s attention and is convinced she’s plain and unattractive.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

No one, in Oslo or elsewhere, is convinced.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

During this hack, Claude realized that what it was doing wasn’t something it should be doing in the real world, but it convinced itself that it was living in a simulation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

We’d finally convinced my dad to take us for breadsticks, and Ava and Ana were reading in the lobby.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

"The forgery does not have to look convincing on its own," Van Ess added.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

“The settlor can alternatively amend the trust via any method that shows his or her intent to do so by clear and convincing evidence,” McLane Middleton says.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

Some CEOs say it takes some convincing to get them to give up their retirement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Even in the context of Kimi Antonelli's stellar start to the season for Mercedes, this was one of the most impressive and convincing victories of the season.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

She smiles, and I feel like she means it, but the expression is not convincing.

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

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