convince vs persuade

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majidkh
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convince vs persuade

Post by majidkh »

Hello

Would you please tell me a few sentences in which convince and persuade can not be interchangeably used?

Thanks a lot.
simplythebest
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Re: convince vs persuade

Post by simplythebest »

con‧vince [transitive]
1 to make someone feel certain that something is true: Her arguments didn't convince everyone, but changes were made.
convince somebody (that) Baker had to convince jurors that his client had been nowhere near the scene of the murder.
convince somebody of something The officials were eager to convince us of the safety of the nuclear reactors.
2 to persuade someone to do something [= persuade]
convince somebody to do something I've been trying to convince Jean to come with me.
per‧suade [transitive]
1 to make someone decide to do something, especially by giving them reasons why they should do it, or asking them many times to do itpersuade somebody to do something I finally managed to persuade her to go out for a drink with me.
persuade somebody into doing something Don't let yourself be persuaded into buying things you don't want.
try/manage/fail to persuade somebody I'm trying to persuade your dad to buy some shares.
attempt/effort to persuade somebody Leo wouldn't agree, despite our efforts to persuade him.
little/a lot of/no persuading He took a lot of persuading to come out of retirement (=it was hard to persuade him).
He was fairly easily persuaded.
2 to make someone believe something or feel sure about something [= convince]: I am not persuaded by these arguments.
persuade somebody (that) She'll only take me back if I can persuade her that I've changed.
persuade somebody of something McFadden must persuade the jury of her innocence.

try some on line dictionaries:http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/
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Joe
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Re: convince vs persuade

Post by Joe »

Although convince and persuade are often used interchangeably, careful writers and speakers try to preserve the distinctions between them.

Convince comes from a Latin word meaning 'conquer, overcome.'

Persuade comes from a Latin word meaning 'advise, make appealing, sweeten.'

In general:
- convincing is limited to the mind
- persuasion results in action

For example:
The manager convinced us that delay was pointless.
John persuaded Mary to have a drink.
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