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

In new filings, Jones argues that defendant Melissa Nathan, another prominent entertainment industry publicist, committed perjury and hid evidence about her role in creating the sites, including one which targeted Jones. — Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2026

Originally, Johnson faced 18 counts of election forgery and one count of election perjury, and Andrews was charged with two counts of election perjury and 28 counts of election forgery. — Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2026

This case is interesting, however, said trial attorney Derek Hollingsworth, who was on Roger Clemens’ perjury defense team and has also worked as a state prosecutor. — Sam Blum, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Diamond also took the unusual step of recommending that the DOJ investigate whether Krasner committed any crimes, including perjury and obstruction of justice, according to court documents. — Eva Andersen, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for perjury

• surgery
• cryosurgery
• microsurgery
• neurosurgery
• psychosurgery
• radiosurgery

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