Vincō means “conquer,” “defeat,” “overcome,” “prevail,” or “prove superior.” Its principal parts are vincō, vincere, vīcī, victum. Present vinc-, perfect vīc-, and supine vict- must be distinguished.
The defeated opponent or overcome obstacle is normally accusative. Latin does not require a preposition corresponding to English “win over/against.”
Active Paradigms
| Tense | 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | vincō | vincis | vincit | vincimus | vincitis | vincunt |
| Imperfect | vincēbam | vincēbās | vincēbat | vincēbāmus | vincēbātis | vincēbant |
| Future | vincam | vincēs | vincet | vincēmus | vincētis | vincent |
| Perfect | vīcī | vīcistī | vīcit | vīcimus | vīcistis | vīcērunt / vīcēre |
| Pluperfect | vīceram | vīcerās | vīcerat | vīcerāmus | vīcerātis | vīcerant |
| Future perfect | vīcerō | vīceris | vīcerit | vīcerimus | vīceritis | vīcerint |
| Subjunctive | 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | vincam | vincās | vincat | vincāmus | vincātis | vincant |
| Imperfect | vincerem | vincerēs | vinceret | vincerēmus | vincerētis | vincerent |
| Perfect | vīcerim | vīcerīs | vīcerit | vīcerīmus | vīcerītis | vīcerint |
| Pluperfect | vīcissem | vīcissēs | vīcisset | vīcissēmus | vīcissētis | vīcissent |
Nostrī hostēs vincunt.
Our men are defeating the enemy.
Diū difficultātēs vincēbāmus.
For a long time we were overcoming difficulties.
Sī concordēs sumus, vincēmus.
If we are united, we shall win.
Exercitus hostēs magnā pugnā vīcit.
The army defeated the enemy in a great battle.
Passive Voice
| Tense | 1sg | 2sg | 3sg | 1pl | 2pl | 3pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | vincor | vinceris | vincitur | vincimur | vinciminī | vincuntur |
| Imperfect | vincēbar | vincēbāris | vincēbātur | vincēbāmur | vincēbāminī | vincēbantur |
| Future | vincar | vincēris | vincētur | vincēmur | vincēminī | vincentur |
| Present subj. | vincar | vincāris | vincātur | vincāmur | vincāminī | vincantur |
| Imperfect subj. | vincerer | vincerēris | vincerētur | vincerēmur | vincerēminī | vincerentur |
Perfect passive uses victus, -a, -um with sum: victus est, victa erat, victī erunt; victus sit, victa esset.
The participle agrees with the defeated subject, while sum supplies tense and mood. These third-person forms show the complete perfect passive system:
| Form | Parsing | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| victus est | perfect indicative | he was / has been defeated |
| victus erat | pluperfect indicative | he had been defeated |
| victus erit | future perfect indicative | he will have been defeated |
| victus sit | perfect subjunctive | he may have been defeated |
| victus esset | pluperfect subjunctive | he would have been defeated |
Hostēs ante adventum auxiliōrum victī erant.
The enemy had been defeated before the reinforcements arrived.
Hostēs ā nostrīs vincuntur.
The enemy are defeated by our men.
Cupiditās ratiōne victa est.
Desire was overcome by reason.
Imperatives and Non-Finite Forms
Present commands are vince, vincite; passive vincere, vinciminī. The (formal/archaic) future imperative has active vincitō (2nd/3rd singular), vincitōte (2nd plural), vincuntō (3rd plural), and passive vincitor (2nd/3rd singular), vincuntor (3rd plural).
| Category | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present infinitive | vincere | vincī |
| Perfect infinitive | vīcisse | victum esse |
| Future infinitive | victūrum esse | victum īrī |
| Participles | vincēns; victūrus | victus; vincendus |
| Gerund | vincendī, vincendō, vincendum, vincendō | — |
| Supines | victum, victū | — |
In the compact infinitive forms above, victum esse and victūrum esse stand for participles that agree with their accusative subject: for example, eam victam esse and eōs victūrōs esse. Future passive victum īrī, by contrast, contains the indeclinable accusative supine victum.
Dīxit sē hostēs vīcisse.
He said that he had defeated the enemy.
Timor vincendus est.
Fear must be overcome.
The future active participle victūrus describes someone intending or expected to win. The gerundive vincendus makes the opponent or obstacle the thing that must be overcome; a dative may name the responsible person.
Athlēta proximō certāmine victūrus sē esse spērābat.
The athlete hoped that he would win the next contest.
Nōbīs hae difficultātēs vincendae sunt.
We must overcome these difficulties.
Opponents, Battles, and Competitions
The opponent is accusative: hostēs vincere. The arena, means, or respect may appear separately. Pugnā vincere can mean prevail in battle; an ablative of means can identify what secured victory.
Athlēta cēterōs celeritāte vīcit.
The athlete defeated the others through speed.
English distinguishes “defeat an opponent” and “win a contest.” Latin often uses vincō with the opponent, while victōriam adipīscī explicitly names victory. Do not make “the game” automatically the direct object without checking idiom and genre.
Simple vincō can also be used without an expressed object when the context supplies the contest: nostrī vīcērunt means “our men won.” That does not change the verb’s usual transitive government; it is ordinary object omission. When both sides are named, the defeated side is accusative and the victor is the subject.
Utra pars tandem vīcit?
Which side finally won?
Nostrī Gallōs vīcērunt.
Our men defeated the Gauls.
Obstacles, Emotions, and Arguments
The object can be an obstacle or inner force: dolōrem, metum, cupiditātem vincere. In argument, a person or case can prevail. English “overcome” often captures this extension.
Patientiā dolōrem vīcit.
Through endurance she overcame the pain.
Vēritās tandem mendācium vīcit.
Truth finally prevailed over falsehood.
Winning and Proving
Vincō can mean establish a claim by argument or evidence (formal/legal). A following clause or context supplies what has been proved.
Documentīs vīcit accūsātum innocentem esse.
By the documents he proved that the accused was innocent.
This accusative-and-infinitive states the proposition established; it should not be confused with a second opponent.
For the internal structure of such reported propositions, see accusative-and-infinitive.
Because this evidential sense is (formal/legal), ordinary narrative learners should not assume that every English “prove” maps to vincō. Probō may mean approve or demonstrate, while convincō often proves a person wrong or establishes guilt. The construction and genre decide among them.
Ōrātor causam argumentīs vīcit.
The advocate won the case through argument.
Compounds
Convincō, convincere, convīcī, convictum means overcome conclusively, prove, or convict; dēvincō “conquer completely”; pervincō “overcome thoroughly.” Compounds preserve the basic -vīc-/-vict- alternation but develop specialized meanings.
Testis falsī convictus est.
The witness was convicted/proved guilty of falsehood.
Genitive falsī specifies the charge or matter in this legal expression; simple vincō does not thereby acquire general genitive government.
The English derivative “convince” can mislead: Classical convincō is stronger than merely persuading someone to adopt an opinion. It commonly means refute conclusively, prove guilty, or demonstrate a charge. For gentle persuasion, persuādeō with a dative is the more relevant verb.
Aspect and Outcome
Imperfect vincēbat can show a struggle going in someone’s favor; perfect vīcit normally presents victory as achieved. This lexical result makes it unlike cōnor, which reports an attempt without success.
Diū vincēbat, sed in ultimā parte certāminis victus est.
For a long time he was prevailing, but in the final part of the contest he was defeated.
The subjunctive follows normal third-conjugation formation. Present vincat can express a wish or command; imperfect vinceret locates an unreal, desired, or subordinate victory in a past frame. The long vowel of perfect forms—vīcerit, vīcisset—belongs to the perfect stem.
Vincat melior!
May the better person win!
Nēmō sciēbat uter exercitus vinceret.
No one knew which army would win.
Parsing Diagnostic
Identify vinc-, vīc-, or vict- and determine voice. Locate opponent, obstacle, or proposition proved. Distinguish an ablative of means from a passive agent, and treat compound convincō as a specialized lexeme.
Common Mistakes
Inventing the perfect
❌ Hostēs vincīvī.
Incorrect — the perfect is vīcī.
✅ Hostēs vīcī.
I defeated the enemy.
Inventing the participle
❌ Hostēs vincitī sunt.
Incorrect — the participle is victī.
✅ Hostēs victī sunt.
The enemy were defeated.
Using the wrong case after contrā
❌ Contrā hostibus vīcit.
Incorrect — contrā requires the accusative, and a defeated opponent normally stands as the direct object.
✅ Hostēs vīcit.
He defeated the enemy.
Putting an impersonal means in the accusative
❌ Cupiditās ratiōnem victa est.
Incorrect — the means by which desire was overcome is ablative.
✅ Cupiditās sapientiā victa est.
Desire was overcome by wisdom.
Key Takeaways
- Memorize vincō, vincere, vīcī, victum.
- Opponents and obstacles are normally accusative direct objects.
- Perfect vīcī ordinarily presents victory as achieved; the passive uses vict-.
- Compounds such as convincō develop legal and argumentative meanings.
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