They start to lead saint astray without conviction (10)

I believe the answer is:

hesitantly

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'without conviction' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'they start to lead saint astray' is the wordplay.
'start to' indicates taking the first letters.
'astray' is an anagram indicator.
The first letter of 'lead' is 'l'.
'they'+'l'+'saint'='theylsaint'
'theylsaint' is an anagram of 'HESITANTLY'.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.