# convict

/ˈkɑnvɪkt/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/convict
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. to find guilty

verb · CEFR B2

to officially decide in a court of law that someone has committed a crime.

For teachers: to find a defendant guilty of a specific charge through a formal legal process or jury verdict.

- The jury took only two hours to convict him of the robbery.
- Despite the lack of physical evidence, the prosecution managed to convict the defendant based on several consistent eyewitness accounts.

Usage: This verb is transitive and typically takes the preposition 'of' before the crime.

### 2. a prisoner

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a person who has been found guilty of a crime and is serving a sentence in prison.

For teachers: a person found guilty of an offence and sentenced by a judicial body, often specifically one currently incarcerated.

- The escaped convict was caught by the police two days later.
- The prison reform programme aims to provide convicts with vocational skills to reduce the likelihood of reoffending upon their release.

Teaching tip: In modern speech, 'prisoner' or 'inmate' is more common; 'convict' can sound more clinical or harsh.

### 3. to feel moral guilt

verb · CEFR C2 · Formal · Literary

to make someone feel very sure that they have done something wrong or sinful.

For teachers: to cause a person to feel a strong sense of guilt or a conviction of sin, often in a moral or religious context.

- His conscience began to convict him for the lies he had told his family.
- The sermon was designed to convict the listeners of their spiritual apathy and move them toward a more active faith.

## Examples

- The convict escaped from the prison last night.
- After the trial ended, the convict was transported to a high-security facility to begin his ten-year sentence.
- The rehabilitation program aims to provide convicts with marketable skills to reduce the likelihood of reoffending once they are eventually released back into society.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.