unconvincing
Britishadjective
Explanation
Anything that's unconvincing is unlikely or hard to believe. Your unconvincing story about being abducted by aliens probably won't persuade your teacher to give you an extension on your term paper. Your unconvincing impersonation of President Ronald Reagan might sound more like John Wayne, and an unconvincing alibi won't get a suspect off the hook if a detective thinks she's guilty. The adjective unconvincing comes from convince, "cause to believe in the truth of something," and its root that means "to conquer." If you haven't convinced someone of some fact or truth, you've been unconvincing.
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.
It’s also because those same officials have refused to yield, denouncing the threats in recent letters back to the Justice Department as unconvincing and illegal.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
Analysts at JPMorgan, led by Samik Chatterjee, referred to the results as “a bit noisy” in a Thursday note, adding that they appeared unconvincing to investors looking for signs of momentum.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Sadly, there’s no reason to think that Vance cares, because the other reason his faux-chivalry act was so unconvincing is that he does not seem to like or respect his wife.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
Soon, names proliferated—but though the descriptions followed the rules of the international code of zoological nomenclature, professionals argued the descriptions were unconvincing and sometimes wrong.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
When she play-acts, horses around, she is silly and awkward, completely unconvincing.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
