From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconvictioncon‧vic‧tion /kənˈvɪkʃən/ ●○○ noun 1 [countable]BELIEVE a very strong belief or opinionreligious/political etc convictions a woman of strong political convictionsdeep/strong conviction The Dotens have a deep conviction that marriage is for life.conviction that The students possess the conviction that they can make a difference to their community.2 [uncountable]BELIEVE the feeling of being sure about something and having no doubtswith/without conviction He was able to say with conviction that he had changed. ‘No, ’ she said, without conviction. It was a reasonable explanation, but his voice lacked conviction. It took her so much effort to speak that what she said carried great conviction (=showed she felt sure of what she said).3 [countable, uncountable]SCTGUILTY a decision in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime, or the process of proving that someone is guilty OPP acquittal They had no previous convictions. Applicants are checked for criminal convictions.conviction for This was her third conviction for theft. the trial and conviction of Jimmy Malone → have the courage of your convictions at courage(2)COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 3: a decision in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime, or the process of proving that someone is guiltyADJECTIVES/NOUN + convictiona criminal convictionJason already had a criminal conviction for theft.a murder/manslaughter/fraud etc convictionHe lost his job following a drugs conviction.a previous/prior conviction (=a crime someone was found guilty of in the past)The man had five previous convictions for being drunk and disorderly.a wrongful conviction (=a guilty verdict that was wrong)The trial led to the men's wrongful conviction.verbshave a conviction for somethingYou must declare whether you have any convictions.lead to a convictionThey offered a reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer.obtain/secure a conviction (=make someone be found guilty)The prosecution had obtained a conviction based on false evidence.appeal against conviction (=ask a court of law to change it)The men intend to appeal against their convictions.quash/overturn a conviction (=officially say that it was wrong)The Court of Appeal quashed their convictions.uphold a conviction (=officially say that it was right)The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal.
Examples from the Corpus
conviction• The trial and conviction of Jimmy Malone took over three months.• The fact that they do not believe with any great conviction the theories underlying the shocks, makes their task even harder.• He sells his company and he sells himself marketing his own deeply held convictions.• Then, with more conviction, she pronounced my name.• It does not follow that increases in crime accompanied by increased numbers of convictions necessarily entails more people being incarcerated.• Mrs. Warren and her husband appealed the conviction.• Americans held the conviction that anyone could become rich if they worked hard.• He only had one tiny conviction for shoplifting so far, and felt sure that wouldn't be held against him.conviction that• He brought to his office a conviction that a bishop had a dual responsibility to serve both church and monarchy.• She just appeared and moved in with the clear conviction that we were still a family.• There is now a growing conviction that the religious sources for a new public ethos have to be mobilised again.• He was poor himself but passionate in his conviction that Modigliani deserved a sponsor.• The pentecostal conviction that everyone has the responsibility to spread the word did the rest.• Male speaker Anybody with strong convictions that what he is doing is right is bound to stir up controversy.• The consensus will last only so long as most lawyers accept the convictions that support it.carried ... conviction• I tried to argue, Holmes, but somehow my words carried insufficient conviction.conviction for• a conviction for driving while drunkFrom Longman Business Dictionaryconvictioncon‧vic‧tion /kənˈvɪkʃən/ nounLAW1[countable] a decision in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crimeSmith, who had no previous motoring convictions, had been rushing home to see his family when he hit another car.conviction forHe had a conviction for burglary in South Africa.2[uncountable] the process of proving someone guilty in a court of lawEven when crimes are known to the police, only a small proportion lead to arrest, conviction and sentence.legal safeguards against wrongful conviction 