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perjury
noun
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The prefix per- in Latin often meant "harmfully". So witnesses who perjure themselves do harm to the truth by knowingly telling a lie. Not all lying is perjury, only lying under oath; so perjury generally takes place either in court or before a legislative body such as Congress. To avoid committing perjury, a witness or defendant may "take the Fifth": that is, refuse to answer a question because the answer might be an admission of guilt, and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution forbids forcing a citizen to admit to being guilty of a crime.
Examples of perjury in a Sentence
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perjury.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
14th century, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Perjury.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perjury. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
Kids Definition
perjury
nounLegal Definition
perjury
nounAnglo-French perjurie, parjurie, from Latin perjurium, from perjurus deliberately giving false testimony, from per- detrimental to + jur-, jus law
More from Merriam-Webster on perjury
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for perjury
Nglish: Translation of perjury for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of perjury for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about perjury
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