Conviction
Etymology
From Latin "convictionem," from "convincere" (to overcome, refute, prove guilty), from "com-" (intensive) plus "vincere" (to conquer) — the root of "victory" and "invincible." The legal sense (a criminal conviction) and the mental sense (a firm belief) share this origin: a conviction is a belief that has, in effect, conquered you — overcome your doubts and won the argument within.
noun · /kuhn-VIK-shuhn/
A firmly held belief, and the state of being fully persuaded of it.
What it names
Use it for a belief that has taken hold of you strongly enough to shape how you act — not a passing opinion but a settled certainty you will stand on.
Example
She argued with the conviction of someone who had staked her career on being right.
Related idea
An opinion is a view you hold; a conviction is a view that holds you — deep enough that you would act, sacrifice, or dissent for it. Nietzsche warned that convictions can be more dangerous enemies of truth than lies precisely because of that grip.
noun · /kuhn-VIK-shuhn/
A formal court judgment that a person is guilty of a crime.
What it names
a legal finding of guilt
Example
The conviction was overturned on appeal.
Related idea
From the same root as being ‘convinced’ — here a court, not a person, is persuaded. Compare justice, proof.