v.
cause to believe firmly in the truth of something.
▸persuade to do something.
▸
[
as adj. convinced]
firm in one's belief with regard to a particular cause:
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a convinced pacifist.
Derivative
- convincer n.
- convincible adj.
Usage
Some traditionalists deplore the use of convince to mean persuade, as in she convinced my father to branch out on his own, maintaining that convince should be reserved for situations in which someone's belief is changed but no action is taken as a result, while persuade should be used for situations in which action results. In practice this use is well established.
Etymology
C16: from L. convincere, from con- ‘with’ + vincere ‘conquer’; cf. convict.
