Convincing

How to spell convincing

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce convincing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does convincing mean?

1. adjectiveCapable of causing someone to believe that something is true or genuine; thoroughly persuasive.

Convincing in a sentence

• The lawyer presented a convincing argument that swayed the jury.

• Her excuse for missing the meeting was not very convincing.

Where does convincing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb convincere, which combined the intensifying prefix con- with vincere, meaning 'to conquer' or 'to overcome'. In Latin convincere meant to defeat someone decisively in argument, to prove them wrong, or to expose them as guilty. English borrowed 'convince' in the sixteenth century, at first carrying that legal sense of proving a charge before it settled into the modern meaning of bringing someone to firm belief. The adjective 'convincing' grew naturally from the verb, describing something so persuasive that it effectively overcomes doubt. The same vincere root sits inside 'victory', 'invincible', and 'evince', a useful reminder that to convince someone is, quite literally, to win them over.

How the word is built

• con- (intensive, thoroughly)
• vinc (from Latin vincere: to conquer, overcome)
• -ing (adjective suffix)