Revised as of
30 June 2023
Turns out that convince and persuade are distinct, even though both intend to change a person’s mind through facts or arguments.
Convince involves the mind in overcoming another’s indecision.
Persuade sweetly advises the other party to change his or her mind, which results in action.
The prime minister convinced the council that delay was pointless. The senator persuaded her colleagues to pass the legislation.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Convince | Persuade |
|---|---|
Marlboro Ad courtesy of Popular Science, October 1972, by Anton Raath is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Marlboro Man cigarette ads were highly successful in convincing people that smoking was cool. |
I Can Be Persuaded by Martha Soukup under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Verb, transitive
Third person present verb: convinces |
Verb, transitive
Third person present verb: persuades |
Cause someone to believe firmly in the truth of something
To move by argument or evidence to belief, agreement, consent, or a course of action [Obsolete] To prove or find guilty [Obsolete] To overcome
|
Cause someone to do something through reasoning or argument
|
| Examples: | |
| Robert’s expression had obviously convinced her of his innocence.
You couldn’t convince him that a floppy disk was as good as a manuscript. She convinced my father to branch out on his own. We must convince the jury of his guilt. I guarantee that a test drive will convince you that this car handles well. We finally convinced them to have dinner with us. |
It wasn’t easy, but I persuaded him to do the right thing.
They must often be persuaded of the potential severity of their drinking problems. He did everything he could to persuade the police that he was the robber. The cost of the manor’s restoration persuaded them to take in guests. He finally persuaded them to buy it. Even with the evidence, the police were not persuaded. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: convincible Adverb: convincedly Noun: convincedness, convincer, convincibility, convincement, convincer, convincing |
Adjective: nonpersuadable, persuadable, persuasible Adverb: persuadably, persuadingly Noun: persuadability, persuadableness, persuader, persuading, persuasibility |
| History of the Word: | |
| Mid-16th century in the sense of overcome, defeat in argument is from the Latin convincere, from con- (with) + vincere (conquer). | Late 15th century from the Latin persuadere, which is from per- (through, to completion) + suadere (advise). |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Convince versus Persuade
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: convince, persuade
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Do Wish You Were Here, Virginia State Parks is by Virginia State Parks staff under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
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