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
Alan Feuer, New York Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Bridget Ann Adams, 40, was convicted of stalking, stalking while prohibited by a court order, false imprisonment, solicitation to commit a crime, two counts of perjury and two counts of witness intimidation, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday in a news release.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 28 Mar. 2024
Sandy Baxter — another political operative — was also charged with perjury on accusations of lying about her involvement in the dark money scheme, Nessel said.
—Detroit Free Press, 21 Feb. 2024
Mosby acknowledged during her testimony having been found guilty of two counts of perjury in November.
—Jean Marbella, Baltimore Sun, 1 Feb. 2024
In his submission, which was signed under penalties of perjury, Rotta made several false statements, according to the new indictment.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 22 Mar. 2024
Ebright further accused Andersen and Garry of perjury, based on their denials at a congressional hearing in July that Fauci pressured them to advocate for the zoonosis theory in their paper.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Although Weisselberg neither committed violence nor orchestrated an elaborate scheme, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecutors argued that perjury undermines the broader ends of justice and cannot be ignored.
—Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 5 Mar. 2024
Allen Weisselberg, former Trump Organization CFO, turns himself in on perjury charge
The Trump trials: A former president faces justice
Attorneys spar at final hearing over removing Fani Willis from Trump Georgia case
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Melissa Quinn
Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 4 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'perjury.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
14th century, in the meaning defined above
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Cite this Entry
“Perjury.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perjury. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on perjury
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for perjury
Nglish: Translation of perjury for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of perjury for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about perjury
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