Definition

1. Verb:
   • To induce someone to commit perjury or give false testimony: The act of persuading or bribing a witness to lie under oath in a legal proceeding.
   • To procure false testimony or perjury: To secure or obtain false evidence or a breach of oath through illicit means.
   • To incite or instigate someone to commit a crime or an evil deed: To secretly persuade someone to perform an unlawful or wrongful act.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • The corrupt official was accused of attempting to suborn a key witness in the trial.
  • They conspired to suborn perjury by offering the juror a large sum of money.
  • He was found guilty of suborning his employee to destroy the financial records.

Advanced Usage

• Legal Context: "Suborn" is primarily a legal term. The related crime is "subornation of perjury," which is the offense of persuading another to commit perjury.
  • The charge was not just perjury, but subornation of perjury, implicating the lawyer who coached the witness.

Variants and Related Words

• Subornation (noun): The act or crime of suborning someone.
  • He was convicted for the subornation of a witness.
• Suborner (noun): A person who suborns another.
  • The investigation aimed to find the suborner who bribed the official.

Synonyms

• Bribe: To persuade someone to act in one's favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.
• Instigate: To bring about or initiate (an action or event), often a negative one.
• Procure: To obtain something, especially with care or effort; in this context, obtaining something illicitly.

Related Phrases

• To suborn perjury: This is the most common collocation, meaning specifically to induce someone to lie under oath.
  • The defense attorney was disbarred for attempting to suborn perjury.

Verb

1. induce to commit perjury or give false testimony
   • The President tried to suborn false witnesses
2. procure (false testimony or perjury)
3. incite to commit a crime or an evil deed
   • He suborned his butler to cover up the murder of his wife