perjury
/'pə:dʤəri/
Definition
- 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.
Noun
-
criminal offense of making false statements under oath
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