conviction

[kuhn-vik-shuhn]

noun

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

conviction

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of conviction¹

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; convince ) + -iō -ion ( def. )

Idioms and Phrases

see courage of one's convictions.

Synonym Study

See belief.

Example Sentences

But the conviction did not stop her from continuing to perform unauthorized procedures in California, prosecutors said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

If he can engineer another victory in Latvia, then it will add weight to his conviction that will build a team.

Read more on BBC

“Despite feelings of frustration or questions, what keeps a lot of us here, despite any of that, is that we have a conviction.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Kaplowitz gave a relatively simple reason: “Increased conviction on robust data center infrastructure demand.”

Read more on Barron's

Even after Holmes’s conviction, venture capitalist Tim Draper, an early investor in Theranos, said he was alarmed about the case having a chilling effect on business.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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