perjury

/'pə:dʤəri/

Thân thiện

A witness commits perjury while testifying in court.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The criminal offense of deliberately telling a lie or making a false statement while under oath, especially in a court of law: Perjury is a serious legal violation that involves swearing to tell the truth and then willfully stating something one knows to be false.

Usage

• Perjury is a formal legal term. It is used in contexts involving law, courts, and official testimony.
• It is typically an uncountable noun (e.g., ). It can be used in the plural form () when referring to multiple specific instances, though this is less common.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The witness was charged with perjury for lying under oath about his whereabouts.
  • Committing perjury can result in severe penalties, including imprisonment.
  • The investigation revealed a pattern of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Advanced Usage

• "To commit perjury": This is the standard verb collocation for the act of lying under oath.
  • He refused to commit perjury, even under pressure from the corrupt officials.
• "Perjury trap": A legal strategy where investigators call a person to testify, hoping they will lie under oath so they can be charged with perjury.
  • The defense attorney argued that the subpoena was a perjury trap.

Variants and Related Words

• Perjure (verb): To commit perjury. Often used reflexively as "to perjure oneself."
  • She was afraid she would have to perjure herself if she testified.
• Perjurer (noun): A person who commits perjury.
  • The judge denounced the witness as a known perjurer.
• Perjurious (adjective): Relating to or involving perjury.
  • The lawyer objected to the perjurious testimony.

Synonyms

• False swearing: A formal term for making a false statement under oath.
• Oath-breaking: Violating a sworn promise (this is a broader, less technical term).
• Falsification: The action of altering information to mislead (broader, not specific to oaths).

Idioms and Phrases

• "To be forsworn": An archaic or literary way to say one has committed perjury or broken a solemn oath.
  • By lying to the court, he was forsworn.

Học thuật

Noun

1. criminal offense of making false statements under oath

Từ đồng nghĩa

• bearing false witness
• lying under oath