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 of convince

• 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

The challenge was convincing Amazon that a Mexican production could deliver the scale and action audiences expect from the genre. — Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026

The wine industry has largely convinced itself that faster, cheaper, and easier is the path to a better product. — Peter Hahn, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2026

Damion is convinced that Julia’s sudden inheritance is a mistake, and their rivalry only gets more complicated when romantic feelings start to arise. — Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2026

Producers weren’t immediately convinced, but the filmmaker was delighted to have final cut on his first feature and insisted that Adult Supervision had to go there. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 29 Sep. 2026

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