convince

verb

con·​vince kən-ˈvin(t)s 

convinced; convincing

transitive verb

1

: to bring (as by argument) to belief, consent, or a course of action : persuade

convinced himself that she was all right

—William Faulkner

something I could never convince him to read

—John Lahr

2

obsolete

a

: to overcome by argument

b

: overpower, overcome

3

obsolete : demonstrate, prove

convincer noun

Synonyms

• persuade
• satisfy
• bring

Examples of convince in a Sentence

He convinced me that the story was true.

They convinced us of their innocence.

I managed to convince myself that I was doing the right thing.

We convinced them to go along with our scheme.

I was unable to convince her to stay.

Recent Examples on the Web

Despite their mass use, Manuylov hopes to convince various associations and research boards to conduct comparative field tests of the classic methods versus his own. —Maria Williams, USA Today, 12 Sep. 2025

Ciara recently opened up about a time her husband, Russell Wilson, convinced a teenager with leukemia to stick with his treatment, an act that wound up changing his story from coming to an end. —Regina Cho, VIBE.com, 12 Sep. 2025

While many echoed this sentiment in the comments and their own TikTok videos, not everyone is convinced. —Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 12 Sep. 2025

However, Garraty runs back and convinces his friend to walk a little further with him before taking advantage of McVries' distracted state to do what McVries had planned to do for him. —Megan McCluskey, Time, 12 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin convincere to refute, convict, prove, from com- + vincere to conquer — more at victor

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for convince

• evince
• mince
• prince
• quince
• rinse
• since
• wince

Kids Definition

convince

verb

con·​vince kən-ˈvin(t)s 

convinced; convincing

: to make a person agree or believe by arguing or showing evidence

convinced me it was true

convincer noun