convincing
Americanadjective
-
persuading or assuring by argument or evidence.
They gave a convincing demonstration of the car's safety features.
-
appearing worthy of belief; plausible.
The excuse was not convincing.
adjective
-
credible or plausible
-
law persuading by evidence or argument
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of convincing
Explanation
When something is convincing, it makes people agree with what it claims to be true. Describe an argument as convincing if it wins you over and makes you believe in its rightness. To figure out what convincing means, remember that vincere is the Latin word for "to conquer." Add on the prefix con-, meaning "with," and you get something that has the ability to conquer — whether it's doubts, disbelief, or hostility. The suffix -ing tells you that the word describes the action or result of something. The result of a convincing argument is more people who have joined your side or cause.
Vocabulary lists containing convincing
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 31-40
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 20–25
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"The War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara
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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.
"None of the characters has convincing motivation for their actions or words. There are no sex scenes, and all the food looks horrible."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Now he faces another tricky sale: convincing his colleagues to abandon the intellectual habits of an economics profession he thinks led it astray.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
A: The projected performance of the open-fan engine is convincing.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Microsoft has had trouble convincing investors that it has a winning artificial-intelligence strategy, but they might be looking at the company’s big AI initiatives all wrong, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
My shuddering voice didn’t sound convincing even to me.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
