convince

verb con·vince \ kən-ˈvin(t)s \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of convince

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

See convince defined for English-language learners

See convince defined for kids

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 of convince from the Web

Lhakpa joined an expedition of five women in 2000 who convinced the government to give them a permit.

— pat eaton-robb, The Christian Science Monitor, "Nepalese woman prepares for 9th Everest summit," 17 Apr. 2018
He was drafted into the military service during the Korean War where a fellow GI named Frank D'Amico -- a lawyer -- convinced Elie to go to law school.

— mike scott, NOLA.com, "For decades, he fought for one thing: basic human dignity," 17 Apr. 2018
But by the mid-1990s, drug makers had convinced government regulators that when taken long-term, the medications sharply reduced the risk of relapse in people with chronic, recurrent depression.

— benedict carey, New York Times, "Antidepressants and Withdrawal: Readers Tell Their Stories," 17 Apr. 2018
The family of Sanel Saint-Simon, an Orange County man convicted of killing 16-year-old Alexandria Chery, is testifying in his defense via video feed from Haiti to try and convince jurors to recommend a sentence of life in prison, not death.

— gal tziperman lotan, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Jurors to hear from family of man convicted of killing teenager," 17 Apr. 2018
Historians generally credit Yamamoto, an innovative proponent of air power, with the idea of attacking the U.S. Pacific fleet and convincing Japanese military leaders that his plan could work.

— CBS News, "WWII research team marks death of Pearl Harbor mastermind," 16 Apr. 2018
He was feared in the Pacific.’’ Historians generally credit Yamamoto, an innovative proponent of air power, with the idea of attacking the US Pacific fleet and convincing Japanese military leaders that his plan could work.

— chris carola, BostonGlobe.com, "Researchers to mark site where Pearl Harbor planner died," 16 Apr. 2018
Which meant that there was even one more layer of oversight to contend with, for those convinced of a Deep State conspiracy theory.

— graeme mcmillan, WIRED, "While You Were Offline: The Final Days of Paul Ryan," 15 Apr. 2018
This comes a few months after the league finally convinced the Indians to drop the Chief Wahoo logo from its uniforms starting in 2019.

— steven ruiz, For The Win, "MLB Shop removes Chief Wahoo hat with Jackie Robinson Day patch from site," 15 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'convince.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.