perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpər-jə-rē 

ˈpərj-rē

: the voluntary violation of an oath or vow either by swearing to what is untrue or by omission to do what has been promised under oath : false swearing

Did you know?

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

He was found guilty of perjury.

Recent Examples on the Web

Tax returns must be signed under penalties of perjury. —Robert W. Wood, Forbes, 6 Sep. 2024

In light of the admission caught on tape, PETA sent a letter to an assistant U.S. attorney, urging the court to pursue criminal perjury charges against Haddix. —Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2024

Becker, who recently filed for reelection, was indicted last year on perjury charges involving the leak of a Santa Clara County civil grand jury report. —Grace Hase, The Mercury News, 2 Sep. 2024

She was also sentenced to six months in prison for perjury and began serving that sentence in March 2008. —Jada Gomez, SELF, 30 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpərj-(ə-)rē 

plural perjuries

: the act or crime of swearing to what one knows is untrue

Legal Definition

perjury

noun

per·​ju·​ry ˈpər-jə-rē 

plural perjuries

: the act or crime of knowingly making a false statement (as about a material matter) while under oath or bound by an affirmation or other officially prescribed declaration that what one says, writes, or claims is true compare false swearing

Etymology

Anglo-French perjurie, parjurie, from Latin perjurium, from perjurus deliberately giving false testimony, from per- detrimental to + jur-, jus law