suborn

sub·orn | \ sə-ˈbȯrn

How to pronounce suborn (audio)

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suborned; suborning; suborns

Definition of suborn

transitive verb

1 : to induce secretly to do an unlawful thing

2 : to induce to commit perjury also : to obtain (perjured testimony) from a witness

Other Words from suborn Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about suborn

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Did You Know?

The Latin word that gave us suborn in the early part of the 16th century is subornare, which translates literally as "to secretly furnish or equip." The sub- that brings the "secretly" meaning to subornare more commonly means "under" or "below," but it has its stealthy denotation in the etymologies of several other English words, including surreptitious (from sub- and rapere, meaning "to seize") and the verb suspect (from sub- or sus- and specere, meaning "to look at"). The ornare of subornare is also at work in the words ornate, adorn, and ornament.

Examples of suborn in a Sentence

He's accused of suborning a witness.

Recent Examples on the Web Brindley also made national legal headlines for beating his own indictment for suborning perjury in 2015. — Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Pain clinic owner's trial derails after defense attorney withdraws on the first day," 19 Feb. 2020 Combined with countries that have only limited enforcement, 51.9% of global exports come from countries that allow their companies to suborn foreign officials. — Tom Saler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Tom Saler: Illicit payments are common in some corners of international business," 14 Feb. 2020 And, moreover, there was now evidence of a pressure campaign that looked a lot like an attempt to suborn perjury. — David French, National Review, "The New York Times Still Doesn’t Understand What It Did," 17 Sep. 2019 Russia and separatist Ukraine are not the Soviet Union, but justice is still suborned to theatre, and facts to interests. — The Economist, "A bold Ukrainian film-maker charts the line between fiction and truth," 25 July 2019 That made Facebook allegedly complicit in suborning the democratic process in both countries, which surely warrants a stringent regulatory response. — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, "Column: In Facebook settlement, the FTC lets the company and Zuckerberg off the hook," 24 July 2019 Another possibility, though, is that Rosenstein knows Trump is in fact being investigated for one or more of the categories of behavior that Barr admits would be obstruction — such as suborning false testimony or withholding evidence. — Andrew Prokop, Vox, "Trump’s attorney general nominee wrote a memo expressing deep suspicion of the Mueller probe," 20 Dec. 2018 But the actions those presidents were accused of — like witness tampering or suborning perjury — were not an exercise of their official powers as president. — Charlie Savage, New York Times, "Trump and His Lawyers Embrace a Vision of Vast Executive Power," 4 June 2018 Imagine a president willing and able to suborn criminality on his behalf. — Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Is Probing the Constitution for Weaknesses, and Finding Them," 1 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'suborn.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near suborn

subordinationist

suborganization

Statistics for suborn

Cite this Entry

“Suborn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suborn. Accessed 2 Jul. 2020.

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More Definitions for suborn

suborn

verb

English Language Learners Definition of suborn

law

: to persuade (someone) to do something illegal (such as to lie in a court of law)

: to get (false testimony) from a witness

See the full definition for suborn in the English Language Learners Dictionary

suborn

transitive verb

sub·orn | \ sə-ˈbȯrn

\

Legal Definition of suborn

1 : to induce or procure to commit an unlawful act and especially perjury an attempt to suborn a witness

2 : to induce (perjury) or obtain (perjured testimony) from a witness an attorney and his client were jointly charged with suborning perjury and perjury, respectively— W. R. LaFave and J. H. Israel

WORD OF THE DAY

obtain

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