convince

convince
—convincedly, adv. —convincedness, n. —convincer, n. —convincible, adj. —convincibility, n.
/keuhn vins"/, v.t., convinced, convincing.
1. to move by argument or evidence to belief, agreement, consent, or a course of action: to convince a jury of his guilt; A test drive will convince you that this car handles well.
2. to persuade; cajole: We finally convinced them to have dinner with us.
3. Obs. to prove or find guilty.
4. Obs. to overcome; vanquish.
[1520-30; < L convincere to prove (something) false or true, (somebody) right or wrong, equiv. to con- CON- + vincere to overcome; see VICTOR]
Syn. 1. satisfy.
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.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Synonyms:
(by proof or evidence),


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Convince — Con*vince , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Convinced}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Convincing}.] [L. convincere, victum, to refute, prove; con + vincere to conquer. See {Victor}, and cf. {Convict}.] 1. To overpower; to overcome; to subdue or master. [Obs.] [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • convince — The use followed by a to infinitive, on the analogy of persuade, induce, encourage, and other words, is recorded from the 1950s and is still disapproved of by many, although it is now common, especially informally: • He wants to convince me to… …   Modern English usage

  • convince — I verb allure, argue into, assure, bring to reason, carry conviction, clinch an argument, compel, compel belief, convert, dispose, enlist, exert influence, extort belief, gain the confidence of, impel, impress, incline, indoctrinate, induce,… …   Law dictionary

  • convince — (v.) 1520s, to overcome in argument, from L. convincere to overcome decisively, from com , intensive prefix (see COM (Cf. com )), + vincere to conquer (see VICTOR (Cf. victor)). Meaning to firmly persuade is from c.1600. Related: Convinced;… …   Etymology dictionary

  • convince — [v] gain the confidence of argue into, assure, brainwash, bring around, bring home to*, bring to reason*, change, demonstrate, draw, effect, establish, get, hook*, induce, make a believer*, overcome, persuade, prevail upon, prompt, prove, put… …   New thesaurus

  • convince — ► VERB 1) cause to believe firmly in the truth of something. 2) persuade to do something. DERIVATIVES convincer noun convincible adjective. ORIGIN Latin convincere overcome, demonstrate , from vincere conquer …   English terms dictionary

  • convince — [kən vins′] vt. convinced, convincing [L convincere, to overcome, convict of error < com , intens. + vincere, to conquer: see VICTOR] 1. Obs. to overcome, confute, or convict 2. to overcome the doubts of; persuade by argument or evidence; make …   English World dictionary

  • convince */*/*/ — UK [kənˈvɪns] / US verb [transitive] Word forms convince : present tense I/you/we/they convince he/she/it convinces present participle convincing past tense convinced past participle convinced 1) to make someone believe that something is true… …   English dictionary

  • convince — con|vince W3S3 [kənˈvıns] v [T] [Date: 1500 1600; : Latin; Origin: convincere to prove untrue, convict, prove , from com ( COM ) + vincere to defeat ] 1.) to make someone feel certain that something is true ▪ Her arguments didn t convince… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • convince — 01. My boyfriend is trying to [convince] me to get married, but I don t think that I m ready. 02. My parents are trying to [convince] me to go to university in the fall, but I want to take a year off to travel. 03. She was thinking of buying a… …   Grammatical examples in English

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