When you do something with conviction, you do so with full confidence that you are correct.
But what is the verb that means “To be fully confident that one is correct”?
At Microsoft, it is often backformed into the verb convict (stress on second syllable).
This backformation typically happens in speech, so it’s hard to find written citations, although I did find a few.
We will never know for sure, but I continue to remain highly convicted that we are on the right track here.
Be convicted about where you’re heading, and that you are doing the most important things.
There are rumors that Bob is not super-convicted about this plan.
I cannot find dictionary support for this usage of convicted, but then again, I didn’t search the big guns like the Oxford English Dictionary.
From what I can tell, the English verb corresponding to conviction is simply convince. The word conviction apparently comes from the Latin convictionem, which is the accusative form of convictio, meaning “proof”, which is in turn the past participle of convincere, which means “to convince”. So at least that lines up.
But saying “I continue to remain convicted that we are on the right track here” sounds more forceful than simply “I continue to remain convinced that we are on the right track here.”
That’s probably why the word survives. It just sounds more powerful.
Bonus chatter: This backformation strikes me as odd whenever I hear it, because I think the person is saying that they have been convicted of a crime.
Here's what seems to be the most relevant entry in the OED:
"5. † To compel (a person) by proof, argument, etc. to acknowledge an assertion, confess an opinion, etc.; = convince v. I.3. Obsolete. 1583–1659" — https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/5135893012 => https://www.oed.com/dictionary/convict_v?tab=meaning_and_use#8293425
There's also this one that seems kinda like the opposite:
"6.a. To prove (a doctrine (obsolete) or its holders) to be wrong, erroneous, or false; = convince v. II.6. archaic. 1593–" — https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1189842768 => https://www.oed.com/dictionary/convict_v?tab=meaning_and_use#8293477
Wiktionary has this:
"2. (chiefly religion) To convince, persuade; to cause (someone) to believe in (something). Synonym: convince" — https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/convict#Verb
But saying “I continue to remain convicted that we are on the right track here” sounds more forceful than simply “I continue to remain convinced that we are on the right track here.”
To my ear “remain convicted” doesn’t sound more forceful; it sounds like someone who has a poor grasp of English, possibly an ESL speaker.
Besides, “convict” is already a verb meaning “to be found/proven guilty”. So I guess you can say you “remain convicted”, at least until you exhaust any hope of appeal.
Sounds perfectly normal to me! That word is pretty common in the NIV Bible.
I mean, specifically "convicted" only has two instances in the NIV (1 Cor 14:24 & James 2:9), and those, as well as other forms of "convict" (other than "conviction") I could find seem to mainly have the sense of "been determined to have done something wrong". It's certainly used colloquially in some circles in phrasing like "convicted by the Holy Spirit" and such, but again I think that's more about realizing one has done wrong, rather than the sense given here where one is convinced that one is in the right.
As others say, this sounds like something started by a...
As a non-native speaker of English, this sounds specially odd to me 😅. In Portuguese, “estou convicto de que…” (I am convicted/certain that…) is a perfectly grammatical, natural sentence that any native speaker should accept without issue, but, since I had never heard the English version and we learn to use “convinced” instead for this case, “convicted” sounds like broken English that people would make up by anglifying the Portuguese version. Funny how these things go…
And for me it’s typically seen in courts, for “confirmed someone have committed the crime”, kind of the opposite of the idea being conveyed by the usage here.
I’m super convicted (see what i did there) some big boss once misspoke and then doubled-down on this usage
100%.
Doesn’t seem difficult to unbackform it.
We will never know for sure, but I continue to retain high conviction that we are on the right track here.
Have conviction about where you’re heading, and that you are doing the most important things.
There are rumors that Bob doesn’t have a lot of conviction about this plan.