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.

---

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

---

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

“Well, I’m waiting for you to convince my professor. Otherwise, I’ve still got to work on our original adaptation of Ginsberg’s ‘Kaddish,’” said Anat.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

And then there’s the annual plowing of millions in DWP surplus dollars into the City Hall piggy bank, which convinces ratepayers they’re being fleeced.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

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

Paid-for false advertising which convinces people to part with cash has become a familiar part of everyday life online.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026

And this convinces me she can see what else is going on, between Harold and me.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

Pitching coach Red Adams convinced him that precision location and ball movement were more effective than raw speed and John went 11-5 the following season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

People aren’t just convinced that the food in Europe is superior.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

If you are convinced that mortgage rates, currently around 6.7%, are going to collapse again, you don’t have to buy a home to benefit.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

But if she saw him, she must have convinced herself that she was imagining things.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

"It is a convincing, overwhelming win, with more votes than we got in the General Election of 2024," Farage said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

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

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

The challenge will be convincing consumers that farmers markets are worth the extra effort compared with the convenience of DoorDash and Instacart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

“Angry tears have magic in them,” Mae explained to Connor, but he didn’t appear to need convincing.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate

Related Words

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