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 Sat Jun 28, 2008 9:07 am convince vs persuade |
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Hi,
Yes, there is a difference. 'Convince' suggests you have succeeded in making someone believe what you believe. 'Persuade' gives the idea of 'encourage', try to make someone believe what you believe.
She tried very hard to persuade me that I was wrong and when I saw the facts in writing, she convinced me that she was right.
Alan
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Alan
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Location: UK
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| Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:04 pm convince vs persuade |
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Hello, everybody.
For me, persuade a person to do something is to make him/her do something or to make him/her decide to do something, urge.
In the meaning 'cause to believe, convert' persuade and convince are synonyms. And I didn't know the difference between them. In cases like these:
She'll only take me back if I can persuade her that I've changed.
McFadden must persuade the jury of her innocence.
I used convince, not persuade.
Is there any difference between them?
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Inga
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| Sat Jun 28, 2008 13:00 pm convince vs persuade |
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Hello Inga,
| Inga wrote: | She'll only take me back if I can persuade her that I've changed.
McFadden must persuade the jury of her innocence.
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For me, both "persuade" and "convince" would work in #1. "Convince" suggests a stronger acceptance that I've changed.
For #2, I would say either "...convince the jury of..." or "...persuade the jury that she is innocent." Again, "convince" suggests stronger acceptance on the part of the jury.
One minor difference between "persuade" and "convince" might be that "persuade" usually implies a process of presenting reasons, arguments, evidence, etc.; whereas "convince" can also imply a sudden revelation:
Thus:
1. He tried to persuade/convince me that the moon was made of green cheese.
2. For no reason at all, I suddenly felt convinced that the moon was made of green cheese.
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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