convince / persuade

These words both refer to when a person influences another person to do or believe something:

He persuaded me to move to New York by telling me about how exciting the city was.

He convinced me that New York City was an exciting place to live.

However, there are a few differences. We persuade someone TO do something. Persuade is used for influencing someone to take action. We convince someone THAT something is true. Convince is used for facts or beliefs:

My mother didn't want to go to the doctor, but I persuaded her to make an appointment.

persuade --> action of making an appointment

My mother didn't want to go to the doctor, but I convinced her that it was a good idea.

convince --> fact that seeing the doctor would be a good idea

You can also use the adjective convinced to describe it when a person is completely sure of their belief in something:

I'm convinced that war is always wrong.

Somebody can persuade you to do something... even though you're not convinced it's the best thing to do!

My friend persuaded me to become a vegetarian, but I'm not convinced I'm getting enough protein in my diet.

An argument that is very strong and effective in making you believe something is a convincing argument:

The lawyer presented a convincing argument that his client was innocent.

A person who is very good at influencing you to do things is persuasive:

My father managed to get the local law changed in the town. He can be very persuasive.

Finally, the noun persuasion refers to the act of influencing or encouraging somebody to do something:

After a lot of persuasion from family members, my grandmother finally moved into a retirement home.

1. a / an / one

2. able / capable

3. accident / incident

4. accurate / exact / precise

5. ache / pain / hurt

6. actual / current / present

7. administrator / boss / manager

8. adverse / averse

9. advice / advise

10. affect / effect

11. afraid / scared / frightened

12. after / later

13. agenda / itinerary / schedule

14. ago / back / before

15. aid / assist / help

16. aim / goal / objective

17. alien / foreigner / stranger

18. alive / life / live

19. all / whole / every

20. all of / each of

21. all ready / already / all right / alright

22. allow / let / permit

23. allude / elude

24. almost / mostly / nearly

25. alone / lonely / only

26. already / yet

27. also / as well / too

28. altar / alter

29. although / though / even though

30. among / between

31. amoral / immoral

32. amount / number / quantity

33. ancient / antique

34. angry / upset

35. another / other / others

36. answer / reply / respond

37. any / some

38. apartment / flat / studio

39. apologize / sorry

40. apology / excuse

41. appraise / apprise

42. arrive / come / get / reach

43. as far as / as long as / as soon as

44. assure / ensure / insure

45. automobile / car / vehicle

46. await / wait / hope / expect

47. award / reward / prize

48. awkward / embarrassing

49. baggage / luggage

50. beach / coast / shore

51. beautiful / pretty

52. become / get / turn

53. been / gone

54. before / in front of / opposite / across from

55. beg / plead

56. begin / start

57. belong to / belong with / belong in

58. below / under / beneath / underneath

59. beside / besides

60. big / large

61. big / small / long / short / tall / huge / tiny

62. bill / invoice / receipt

63. blanket / comforter / quilt

64. borrow / lend / loan / owe

65. bother / disturb

66. bravery / courage

67. bring / take

68. bring up / grow up

69. Britain / England / the United Kingdom

70. broad / wide

71. by / until

72. can / could / able to

73. capital / capitol

74. carpet / mat / rug

75. ceiling / roof

76. chance / possibility / opportunity

77. change / switch

78. chauffeur / driver

79. city / downtown / town

80. classic / classical

81. clever / intelligent / smart

82. close / shut

83. close to / near / next to

84. cloth / clothes / clothing

85. collect / gather

86. come back / go back / get back

87. compliment / complement

88. concern / concerned / concerning

89. confident / confidant / confidence

90. continually / continuously

91. convince / persuade

92. could / should / would

93. council / counsel

94. critic / critical / criticism / critique

95. cure / treat / heal / recover

96. custom / habit

97. deadly / fatal / lethal

98. decent / descent / dissent

99. decline / deny / refuse / reject

100. defect / fault / flaw

101. definitely / definitively

102. delay / late / postpone

103. despite / in spite of

104. die / died / dead

105. difficult / hard

106. dilemma / quandary

107. dinner / supper / meal / snack

108. dirt / earth / soil

109. dirty / messy

110. disability / handicap / impairment

111. discover / find out / notice / realize

112. discreet / discrete

113. disease / illness

114. disinterested / uninterested

115. distinct / distinctive

116. do / make

117. dress / dressed / wear

118. during / while / meanwhile / meantime

119. e.g. / i.e.

120. early / soon

121. earn / gain / win

122. economic / economical

123. effective / efficient

124. either / neither

125. electric / electrical / electronic

126. empathy / sympathy

127. employees / staff

128. end / finish

129. enough / too

130. enquire / inquire

131. especially / specially

132. every day / everyday

133. ex- / former / previous

134. explore / exploit

135. extend / expand

136. famous / infamous

137. farther / further

138. fee / fare / tax

139. female / feminine / woman

140. few / little / less / fewer

141. fit / match / suit

142. floor / ground

143. for / since

144. forest / jungle / wood / woods

145. fun / funny

146. girl / lady / woman

147. good / well

148. good evening / good night

149. gratuity / tip

150. guarantee / warranty

151. gut / guts

152. hard / hardly

153. have / have got

154. have to / must / need to

155. haven't / don't have

156. hear / listen

157. hijack / kidnap

158. historic / historical

159. holiday / vacation

160. hope / wish

161. hopefully / thankfully

162. hostel / hotel / motel

163. house / home

164. how about...? / what about...?

165. human / humankind / human being / man / mankind

166. hundred / hundreds

167. I / my / me / mine / myself

168. I = subject

169. if / whether

170. If I was... / If I were...

171. ignore / neglect

172. ill / sick

173. impending / pending

174. imply / infer

175. in / into / inside / within

176. in / on / at

177. incite / insight

178. income / salary / wage

179. Indian / indigenous / Native American

180. inhabit / live / reside

181. intend / tend

182. interested / interesting

183. interfere / intervene

184. its / it's

185. job / work / career

186. just / only

187. kinds / types / sorts

195. look / see / watch

196. lose / loose

197. lose / miss

198. made of / made from

199. marriage / married / wedding

200. may / might

201. moral / morale

202. Mr. / Mrs. / Ms. / Miss

203. music / song

204. nausea / nauseous / queasy

205. north / northern

206. notable / noticeable

207. ocean / sea / lake / pond

208. oppress / suppress / repress

209. overtake / take over

210. pass away / pass out

211. pass the time / spend time

212. peak / pique

213. persons / peoples

214. poison / venom

215. politics / policy

216. poor / pore / pour

217. pray / prey

218. principal / principle

219. problem / trouble

220. quiet / silent

221. raise / rise / arise

222. regard / regards / regardless

223. regretful / regrettable

224. relation / relationship

225. remember / remind / reminder

226. replace / substitute

227. resolve / solve

228. review / revise

229. rob / thief / steal

230. safety / security

231. sale / sell

232. say / tell / speak

233. scream / shout

234. sensible / sensitive

235. shade / shadow

236. so / such

237. so / very / a lot

238. some time / sometime / sometimes

239. stuff / things

240. such as / as such

241. suppose / supposed to

242. then / than

243. think about / think of

248. travel / trip / journey

249. United

250. wake / awake / sleep / asleep

258. year-old / years old

My Account / Test History

Food Facts
In 1919, a tidal wave of treacle swept through Boston, USA. A storage tank burst, spilling 7.5 million litres (2 million gallons) of it into the streets. It poured over houses, knocking them down, in a wave two storeys high. .. More >>