convict
Americanverb (used with object)
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to prove or declare guilty of an offense, especially after a legal trial.
to convict a prisoner of a felony.
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to impress with a sense of guilt.
noun
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a person proved or declared guilty of an offense.
-
a person serving a prison sentence.
adjective
verb
noun
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a person found guilty of an offence against the law, esp one who is sentenced to imprisonment
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a person serving a prison sentence
adjective
Other Word Forms
- convictable adjective
- convictible adjective
- convictive adjective
- convictively adverb
- preconvict verb (used with object)
- reconvict verb (used with object)
- unconvicting adjective
- unconvictive adjective
Etymology
Origin of convict
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb convicten, from Latin convictus, past participle of convincere, equivalent to con- “with, together” + vic-, variant stem of vincere “to overcome” + -tus past participle suffix; Middle English noun convict “(a) convict,” adjective convict “convicted,” past participle of convicten “to convince” (or directly from Latin ); con-, convince
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"It's very difficult to convict someone of a crime when you don't really know what happened," Tagliapietra said.
From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026
Cue the “Perry Mason” theme, except this jury voted to convict.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2026
Still, the government’s case was enough to convince a jury to convict Hernández after just over eight hours of deliberations, and in June 2024 he was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026
Iron Lung is based on a game of the same name, created by David Szymanski, which follows a lone convict called Simon, played by Fischbach.
From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026
I knew it to be Joe’s file, and I knew that he knew my convict, the moment I saw the instrument.
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
