perjury
PER-jer-ee
/ˈpɜː.dʒər.i/
The offense of willfully telling an untruth in a court after having taken an oath or affirmation.
Perjury requires intent; making an honest mistake under oath is not perjury, but deliberate lying is.
The story behind the word. From Latin 'perjurare' where 'per-' means 'pervertedly or wrongly' and 'jurare' means 'to swear' (from 'jus' meaning law). Thus, perjury literally means swearing an oath pervertedly or breaking a sworn vow.
Word relationships
- false testimony: False testimony describes the action, whereas perjury is the specific criminal offense of lying under oath.
- lying under oath: Lying under oath is the descriptive phrase, while perjury is the precise legal charge.
- truthfulness: Truthfulness is telling the truth under oath.
Commonly confused with
- hearsay: Perjury is deliberate lying under oath, whereas hearsay is repeating unverified statements made by someone else.
Word family
- perjure (verb): Wilfully tell an untruth when giving evidence.
- perjurer (noun): A person who commits perjury.
Collocations
- commit perjury
- perjury charges
- suborn perjury
- penalty of perjury
Idioms & expressions
- under penalty of perjury
Example sentences
- "The witness was charged with perjury after surveillance footage proved he had lied under oath about his whereabouts." Court trial verdict
Memory hook
PER-JURY: Lying directly PERplexes the JURY! Lying under legal oath.
When not to use
Do not use 'perjury' for lying in casual conversation; it requires a formal legal oath.
Fun facts
- In English common law, subornation of perjury is the crime of persuading another person to commit perjury on the witness stand.
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