Meaning of conviction in English

conviction

noun

/kənˈvɪk.ʃən/ us

/kənˈvɪk.ʃən/

conviction noun (CRIME)

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C2 [ C or U ]

the fact of officially being found to be guilty of a particular crime, or the act of officially finding someone guilty:

conviction for Since it was her first conviction for stealing, she was given a less severe sentence.

He has a long record of previous convictions for similar offences.

conviction of The conviction of the three demonstrators has caused public outrage locally.

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acquittal

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Fresh evidence has emerged that casts doubts on the men's conviction.
He got off with a fairly light sentence because it was his first conviction.
The district attorney said if McVeigh is given the death penalty and his conviction is upheld on appeal, the state prosecution would become moot.
Because of a previous conviction, the judge refused to grant bail .
His conviction was quashed in March 1986 after his counsel argued that the police evidence was a tissue of lies.

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Court cases, orders & decisions

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Guilty

conviction noun (OPINION)

C2 [ C or U ]

a strong opinion or belief:

religious/moral convictions

deep/strong/lifelong conviction They share a deep/strong/lifelong conviction that you can do anything if you're willing to work hard.

[ + that ] It's my personal conviction that all rapists should be locked away for life.

[ U ]

a feeling of being certain about something:

lack conviction He said he was enjoying his new job, but his voice lacked conviction.

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She had a firm conviction that they would meet again in the hereafter.
His speech carried so much conviction that I had to agree with him.
He has an irrational conviction that he is right.
Her statement that she supported the president lacked conviction.

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Opinions, beliefs and points of view

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(Definition of conviction from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

conviction | American Dictionary

conviction

noun [ C/U ]

/kənˈvɪk·ʃən/

conviction noun [C/U] (BELIEF)

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a strong belief that is not likely to change, or the strong feeling that your beliefs are right:

[ C ] He has no ability to communicate his convictions.

[ U ] His followers believed with varying degrees of conviction.

conviction noun [C/U] (CRIME)

the act of deciding officially in a court of law that someone is guilty of a particular crime:

[ C ] His criminal record includes convictions for robberies in several states.

(Definition of conviction from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

conviction | Business English

conviction

noun

LAW

/kənˈvɪkʃən/ us

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[ C ]

a decision made by a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime:

have a conviction for sth He has two previous convictions for tax evasion.

[ U ]

the process of proving in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime:

Too many defendants are escaping conviction because the case against them was poorly presented.

(Definition of conviction from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of conviction

conviction

Yet so many other factors also influence epistemic convictions that purely national styles may be relatively rare.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One problem with his conclusions derives from his use of the surviving records of convictions for indictable offences as a proxy for all crime.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Personal conviction on its own is useless, yet within the politics of poststructuralism this is all we can call on.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The non-jurors had just discovered the joys of disestablishment, at first through circumstance, but then through theological conviction.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In other words, our personal moral convictions are not so badly aligned with general welfare that it would be better if they did not exist.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Or perhaps he believes that prior to a conviction suspects should never be jailed?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Now, no doubt the negative evaluation expressed by conviction and punishment goes well beyond the one expressed by an order to pay compensation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

After that is done, the second ballot presents itself, and the voter settles down to his or her more serious convictions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is just this dissociation between the standard predictors and convictions about democracy-in-principle that lends support to the diffuse model.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Then we have wanted a way to warn jurors that they must not let exaggerated, hyperbolic doubts stand in the way of conviction.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Despite conspicuous nationalist convictions, the tenentes had no clear goals in foreign policy.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These dialogues are crafted with great subtlety conveying, at the same time, convictions of truth and falsehood, choice and manipulation, decision and deception.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In the end, the solution to the mystery, if it is in the least unconventional, exposes narrowly conventional convictions as partial, as misguided, as insufcient.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The high court rejected this and set aside the conviction.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In this conviction, secondary materials are considered no different from other intermediary or final goods.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with conviction

conviction

These are words often used in combination with conviction.

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absolute conviction

Yet even this is done with absolute conviction.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

conviction rate

Therefore, a conviction rate as high as 90 per cent certainly cries out for explanation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

criminal conviction

Pure preemption is different from either criminal conviction or traditional civil commitment.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with conviction

What is the pronunciation of conviction?

Translations of conviction

in Chinese (Traditional)

罪行, 定罪，判罪, 觀點…

Meaning of conviction in English

conviction noun (CRIME)

conviction noun (OPINION)

conviction | American Dictionary

conviction noun [C/U] (BELIEF)

conviction noun [C/U] (CRIME)

conviction | Business English

Examples of conviction

Collocations with conviction

conviction

Translations of conviction

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