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
Scott Thompson, Fox News, 6 Mar. 2025
During a preliminary court hearing Friday in Centennial, prosecutors said James Craig is facing additional new felony charges related to plotting the killing of four people: solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury.
—Andi Babineau and Ray Sanchez, CNN, 14 Feb. 2025
During his lengthy summation Friday, Tacopina repeatedly accused Ephron of fabricating or destroying evidence, lying to police, and committing perjury on the witness stand.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 14 Feb. 2025
Craig faces seven felony charges, including first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, solicitation to commit first-degree murder and solicitation to commit perjury in the 2023 death of his wife.
—Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 16 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Perjury.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perjury. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
perjury
noun
Legal Definition
perjury
noun
Anglo-French perjurie, parjurie, from Latin perjurium, from perjurus deliberately giving false testimony, from per- detrimental to + jur-, jus law
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