Which to use
“convince” is a verb and “convinced” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,592
- “convince” frequency rank
- #3,612
- “convinced” frequency rank
- 8204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | convince | convinced |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To make someone believe, or feel sure about something, especially by using logic, argument or evidence. | In a state of believing, especially from evidence but not necessarily. |
Where the eye mixes convince and convinced
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: convince vs convinced
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: convince is /kənˈvɪns/ while convinced is /kənˈvɪnst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “convince” sits inside “convinced”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
convince is recorded at frequency rank #4,592, classified as averb, pronounced /kənˈvɪns/. convinced is at rank #3,612, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kənˈvɪnst/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 8204, this pair ranks #503,680 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of convince vs convinced
Shared letters: ceinov. Private to "convince": -. Private to "convinced": d.
"convince" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "convinced" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "convince" and "convinced" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "convince" or "convinced"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "convince" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "convinced" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #503,680 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "convince" and "convinced" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "confine vs convince". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #503,680 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.