persuade

Universal Words verb 1 ~ sb (into sth / into doing sth) to make sb do sth by giving them good reasons for doing it: [VNtoinf] Try to persuade him to come. * [VN] Please try and persuade her. * She's always easily persuaded. * I allowed myself to be persuaded into entering the competition. * I'm sure he'll come with a bit of persuading. 2 to make sb believe that sth is true SYNCONVINCE: [VNthat] It will be difficult to persuade them that there's no other choice. * She had persuaded herself that life was not worth living. * [VN] No one was persuaded by his arguments. * (formal) I am still not fully persuaded of the plan's merits. ______________________________ WHICHWORD? persuade / convince The main meaning of persuade is to make someone agree to do something by giving them good reasons for doing it: I tried to persuade her to see a doctor. The main meaning of convince is to make someone believe that something is true: He convinced me he was right. It is quite common, however, for each of these words to be used with both meanings, especially for convince to be used as a synonym for persuade: I persuaded/convinced her to see a doctor. Some speakers of BrE think that this is not correct. ______________________________