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Which film centers on jurors debating whether a defendant’s conviction is justified?

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conviction

American  

[kuhn-vik-shuhn] / kənˈvɪk ʃən /

noun

• convictions
  plural

1. 

   a fixed or firm belief.

   No clever argument, no persuasive fact or theory could make a dent in his conviction in the rightness of his position.

2. the act of convicting someone, as in a court of law; a declaration that a person is guilty of an offense.

3. the state of being convicted.

4. the act of convincing a person by argument or evidence.

5. the state of being convinced.

   Antonyms:

   uncertainty, doubt

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conviction British  

/ kənˈvɪkʃən /

noun

1. the state or appearance of being convinced

2. a fixed or firmly held belief, opinion, etc

3. the act of convincing

4. the act or an instance of convicting or the state of being convicted

5. to be convincing

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conviction Idioms  

1. see courage of one's convictions.

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Synonym Usage

See belief.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonconviction
  noun
• preconviction
  noun
• reconviction
  noun
• convictional
  adjective
• proconviction
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• convictions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of conviction

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin convictiōn-, stem of convictiō “proof (of guilt)” from convict(us) “convinced, conquered” (past participle of convincere; see convince) + -iō -ion ( def. )

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Explanation

A conviction is something certain: a judgment of guilty in court and a strong belief are both convictions. In the legal world, when a judge or jury convicts someone of a crime — finding them guilty — this is called a conviction. Prosecutors try to get convictions, and defense attorneys try to prevent them. Also, convictions are beliefs — principles. The United States was founded on many convictions, such as the belief in free speech and separation of church and state. When you have a conviction, you're certain of something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conviction convictions

At the time of the incident, Fairchild was incarcerated after being arrested Sept. 12, 2024, for violating his parole on a 2022 criminal threat conviction.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Petrie's conviction raised fresh questions over background checks on police in Scotland.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

Kaplan’s biggest conviction call right now is 30-year Treasury inflation-protected securities, or TIPS, which are government-issued bonds that provide protection for investors against inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026

The hope and the change, the transcendent conviction that the systemic levers of government are not corroded beyond repair, the optimist I used to be—it all came rushing back.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

Both had trouble generating conviction of their own but no trouble at all reacting to what they viewed as the false conviction of others.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

In an interview, Denise and Jeffrey’s father, Halford Fairchild, acknowledged that Jeffrey led a troubled life, shuffling in and out of jail on a variety of charges and convictions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

British courts overturned the convictions of six men across two cases for charges related to alleged rigging of the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor, during the 2008 financial panic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

Boivin and his team insist they are “managing near-term risk” and not changing their core convictions — they see the AI transformation as intact.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

The four men under formal investigation are aged between 29 and 51, and three of them have previous criminal convictions.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Remarkably, the penalty would apply to people with no prior criminal convictions.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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Related Words

• confidence
• faith
• feeling
• principle
• sentiment
• view

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