convince


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con·vince

(kən-vĭns′)
tr.v. con·vinced, con·vinc·ing, con·vinc·es
1. To cause (someone) by the use of argument or evidence to believe something or to take a course of action. See Synonyms at persuade.
2. Obsolete
a. To prove to be wrong or guilty.
b. To conquer; overpower.

[Latin convincere, to prove wrong : com-, intensive pref.; see com- + vincere, to conquer; see weik-3 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

con·vince′ment n.
con·vinc′er n.
con·vinc′i·ble adj.
Usage Note: According to a traditional rule, one persuades someone to act but convinces someone of the truth of a statement or proposition: By convincing me that no good could come of staying, he persuaded me to leave. If the distinction is accepted, then convince should not be used with an infinitive: He persuaded (not convinced) me to go. In our 1981 survey, 61 percent of the Usage Panel rejected the use of convince with an infinitive. But the tide of sentiment against the construction has turned. In our 2016 survey, 80 percent accepted it in the sentence I tried to convince him to chip in a few dollars, but he refused. Even in passive constructions, a majority of the Panel accepted convince with an infinitive; the sentence After listening to the teacher's report, the committee was convinced to go ahead with the new reading program was accepted by 59 percent of the Panel. Persuade, on the other hand, is fully standard when used with an infinitive or a that clause, in both active and passive constructions. An overwhelming majority of Panelists as far back as 1996 accepted the sentences After a long discussion with her lawyer, she was persuaded to drop the lawsuit and The President persuaded his advisers that military action was necessary. Some writers may wish to preserve the traditional distinction, but they should bear in mind that most readers are unlikely to notice.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

convince

(kənˈvɪns)
vb (tr)
1. (may take a clause as object) to make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something; persuade
2. chiefly US to persuade (someone) to do something
3. obsolete
a. to overcome
b. to prove guilty
[C16: from Latin convincere to demonstrate incontrovertibly, from com- (intensive) + vincere to overcome, conquer]
conˈvincement n
conˈvincer n
conˈvincible adj
Usage: The use of convince to talk about persuading someone to do something is considered by many British speakers to be wrong or unacceptable
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

con•vince

(kənˈvɪns)

v.t. -vinced, -vinc•ing.
1. to move by argument or evidence to belief, agreement, consent, or a course of action: to convince you of his guilt.
2. Obs. to prove or find guilty.
3. Obs. to overcome; vanquish.
[1520–30; < Latin convincere to prove (guilt), demonstrate =con- con- + vincere to overcome]
con•vinc′er, n.
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 support of the rule, convince is often contrasted with persuade, which may take to, of, or that: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 some objections, occurs today in all varieties of speech and writing and is fully standard.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

convince

- Started out meaning "overcome, conquer."
See also related terms for overcome.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

convince

persuade
1. 'convince'

If you convince someone of something, you make them believe it is true.

These experiences convinced me of the drug's harmful effects.
It took them a few days to convince me that it was possible.

Some speakers use convince with a to-infinitive to say that one person makes another person decide to do something, by giving them a good reason for doing it.

Lyon did his best to convince me to settle in Tennessee.
I hope you will help me convince my father to leave.
2. 'persuade'

Using 'convince' in this way is generally regarded as incorrect. Instead you should use persuade.

Marsha was trying to persuade Posy to change her mind.
They had no difficulty in persuading him to launch a new paper.
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

convince


Past participle: convinced
Gerund: convincing

Imperative
convince
convince
Present
I convince
you convince
he/she/it convinces
we convince
you convince
they convince
Preterite
I convinced
you convinced
he/she/it convinced
we convinced
you convinced
they convinced
Present Continuous
I am convincing
you are convincing
he/she/it is convincing
we are convincing
you are convincing
they are convincing
Present Perfect
I have convinced
you have convinced
he/she/it has convinced
we have convinced
you have convinced
they have convinced
Past Continuous
I was convincing
you were convincing
he/she/it was convincing
we were convincing
you were convincing
they were convincing
Past Perfect
I had convinced
you had convinced
he/she/it had convinced
we had convinced
you had convinced
they had convinced
Future
I will convince
you will convince
he/she/it will convince
we will convince
you will convince
they will convince
Future Perfect
I will have convinced
you will have convinced
he/she/it will have convinced
we will have convinced
you will have convinced
they will have convinced
Future Continuous
I will be convincing
you will be convincing
he/she/it will be convincing
we will be convincing
you will be convincing
they will be convincing
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been convincing
you have been convincing
he/she/it has been convincing
we have been convincing
you have been convincing
they have been convincing
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been convincing
you will have been convincing
he/she/it will have been convincing
we will have been convincing
you will have been convincing
they will have been convincing
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been convincing
you had been convincing
he/she/it had been convincing
we had been convincing
you had been convincing
they had been convincing
Conditional
I would convince
you would convince
he/she/it would convince
we would convince
you would convince
they would convince
Past Conditional
I would have convinced
you would have convinced
he/she/it would have convinced
we would have convinced
you would have convinced
they would have convinced
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.convince - make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something; "He had finally convinced several customers of the advantages of his product"
persuade - cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody's arm; "You can't persuade me to buy this ugly vase!"
disarm - make less hostile; win over; "Her charm disarmed the prosecution lawyer completely"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

convince

verb
1. assure, persuade, satisfy, prove to, reassure I soon convinced him of my innocence.
2. persuade, induce, coax, talk into, prevail upon, inveigle, twist (someone's) arm, bring round to the idea of He convinced her to go ahead and marry Bud.
Usage: The use of convince to talk about persuading someone to do something is considered by many British speakers to be wrong or unacceptable. It would be preferable to use an alternative such as persuade or talk into.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

convince

verb
1. To cause (another) to believe or feel sure about something:
2. To succeed in causing (a person) to act in a certain way:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يُقْـنِـعيُقْنِعُ
přesvědčit
overbevise
veenma
vakuuttaa
לשכנע
uvjeriti
sannfæra
確信させる納得させる自覚させる説得する
납득시키다
įtikinti
pārliecināt
prepričati
övertyga
โน้มน้าว
inandırmakikna etmek
thuyết phục

convince

[kənˈvɪns] VTconvencer
to convince sb (of sth/that)convencer a algn (de algo/de que)
I am not convincedno estoy convencido, no me convence
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

convince

[kənˈvɪns] vtconvaincre, persuader
to convince sb of sth → convaincre qn de qch
to convince sb (that) → persuader qn que
to convince sb to do sth → convaincre qn de faire qch
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

convince

vtüberzeugen; I’m trying to convince him that …ich versuche, ihn davon zu überzeugen, dass …
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

convince

[kənˈvɪns] vt to convince sb (of sth/that)convincere qn (di qc/che), persuadere qn (di qc/che)
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

convince

(kənˈvins) verb
to persuade (a person) that something is true. Her smile convinced me that she was happy; She is convinced of his innocence.
conˈvincing adjective
(negative unconvincing) having the power to convince. a convincing argument.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

convince

يُقْنِعُ přesvědčit overbevise überzeugen πείθω convencer vakuuttaa convaincre uvjeriti convincere 確信させる 납득시키다 overtuigen overbevise przekonać convencer убеждать övertyga โน้มน้าว inandırmak thuyết phục 信服
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
"Yes, that is Herder's theory," said Prince Andrew, "but it is not that which can convince me, dear friend- life and death are what convince.
All I say is that it is not argument that convinces me of the necessity of a future life, but this: when you go hand in hand with someone and all at once that person vanishes there, into nowhere, and you yourself are left facing that abyss, and look in.
I am not given to needless worrying, but the more I tried to convince myself that all was well with Powell, and that the dots I had seen on his trail were antelope or wild horses, the less I was able to assure myself.
And this circumstance, while it explains the true motives of Lady Susan's conduct, and removes all the blame which has been so lavished on her, may also convince us how little the general report of anyone ought to be credited; since no character, however upright, can escape the malevolence of slander.
Surely a moment's reflection, and a single instance from common life, must convince every one that our whole social system is based upon Regularity, or Equality of Angles.
All this very plausible reasoning does not convince me, as it has not convinced the wisest of our Statesmen, that our ancestors erred in laying it down as an axiom of policy that the toleration of Irregularity is incompatible with the safety of the State.
One, he said, of which I could not expect easily to convince others.
And therefore, God never wrought miracle, to convince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it.
As to a happy life, whether it is to be found in pleasure or virtue or both, certain it is, that those whose morals are most pure, and whose understandings are best cultivated, will enjoy more of it, although their fortune is but moderate than those do who own an exuberance of wealth, are deficient in those; and this utility any one who reflects may easily convince himself of; for whatsoever is external has its boundary, as a machine, and whatsoever is useful in its excess is either necessarily hurtful, or at best useless to the possessor; but every good quality of the soul the higher it is in degree, so much the more useful it is, if it is permitted on this subject to use the word useful as well as noble.
According toMundo Deportivo,Barcelonastar Gerard Pique, also holidaying in the area with girlfriend Shakira, was sent to meet De Ligt to try and convince him to join the Catalan club.
In a statement issued on Monday, the DFA said that the Philippine Embassy in Tripoli 'has doubled its efforts to convince Filipinos who may get caught in the crossfire of the escalating violence there to go home.'