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Webster 1913 Edition

Convince

Con-vince′

,
Verb.
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.]
His two chamberlains
Will I with wine and wassail so
convince

That memory, the warder of the brain,
Shall be a fume.
Shakespeare
2.
To overcome by argument; to force to yield assent to truth; to satisfy by proof.
Such convincing proofs and assurances of it as might enable them to
convince
others.
Atterbury.
3.
To confute; to prove the fallacy of.
[Obs.]
God never wrought miracle to
convince
atheism, because his ordinary works
convince
it.
Bacon.
4.
To prove guilty; to convict.
[Obs.]
Which of you
convinceth
me of sin?
John viii. 46.
Syn. – To persuade; satisfy; convict.
– To
Convince
,
persuade
. To convince is an act of the understanding; to persuade, of the will or feelings. The one is effected by argument, the other by motives. There are cases, however, in which persuade may seem to be used in reference only to the assent of the understanding; as when we say, I am persuaded it is so; I can not persuade myself of the fact. But in such instances there is usually or always a degree of awakened feeling which has had its share in producing the assent of the understanding.

Webster 1828 Edition

Convince

CONVINCE

,
Verb.
T.
[L., to vanquish.]
1.
To persuade or satisfy the mind by evidence; to subdue the opposition of the mind to truth, or to what is alledged, and compel it to yield its assent; as, to convince a man of his errors; or to convince him of the truth.
For he mightily convinced the Jews--showing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. Acts 18.
2.
To convict; to prove guilty; to constrain one to admit or acknowledge himself to be guilty.
If ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of [by] the law as transgressors. James 2.
To convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds. Jude 15.
3.
To envince; to prove.
4.
To overpower; to surmount; to vanquish.

Definition 2024

convince

convince

English

Verb

convince ‎(third-person singular simple present convinces, present participle convincing, simple past and past participle convinced)

  1. To make someone believe, or feel sure about something, especially by using logic, argument or evidence.
    • Atterbury
      Such convincing proofs and assurances of it as might enable them to convince others.
  2. To persuade.
  3. (obsolete, transitive) To overcome, conquer, vanquish.
    • Shakespeare
      His two chamberlains / Will I with wine and wassail so convince / That memory, the warder of the brain, / Shall be a fume.
  4. (obsolete, transitive) To confute; to prove wrong.
    • Francis Bacon
      God never wrought miracle to convince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it.
  5. (obsolete, transitive) To prove guilty; to convict.
    • Bible, John viii. 46
      Which of you convinceth me of sin?
    • Dryden
      Seek not to convince me of a crime / Which I can ne'er repent, nor you can pardon.

Synonyms

Translations

Related terms

Italian

Verb

convince

  1. third-person singular present of convincere

Latin

Verb

convince

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of convincō

Etymology

From Latin convincō ‎(“to refute, prove”), from con- + vincō ‎(“to conquer, to vanquish”).

Pronunciation

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