perjure

American  

[pur-jer] / ˈpɜr dʒər /

verb (used with object)

• perjures,
  present (3rd person singular)
• perjured,
  past participle,  past
• perjuring
  present participle

1. to render (oneself ) guilty of swearing falsely or of willfully making a false statement under oath or solemn affirmation.

   The witness perjured herself when she denied knowing the defendant.

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perjure British  

/ ˈpɜːdʒə /

verb

1. (tr) criminal law to render (oneself) guilty of perjury

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• perjurement
  noun
• perjurer
  noun
• unperjuring
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• perjuring
  present
• perjured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• perjure
  simple
• perjures
  simple
• have perjured
  perfect
• has perjured
  perfect
• am perjuring
  progressive
• are perjuring
  progressive
• is perjuring
  progressive
• have been perjuring
  perfect progressive
• has been perjuring
  perfect progressive

Past

• perjured
  simple
• had perjured
  perfect
• was perjuring
  progressive
• were perjuring
  progressive
• had been perjuring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will perjure
  simple
• will have perjured
  perfect
• will be perjuring
  progressive
• will have been perjuring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of perjure

First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin perjūrāre “to swear falsely,” from per- “through,” i.e., “beyond the limits” ( see per-) + jūrāre “to swear,” literally, “to be at law” (derivative of jūs jus ¹ ( def. ) )

Explanation

To perjure is to lie after taking an oath in a courtroom to tell the truth. If a witness to a crime deliberately gives false information in front of a judge, they perjure themselves. It's possible to perjure yourself — or commit the crime of perjury — in a written statement or during any other legal transaction that requires you to swear you'll tell the truth. You only perjure yourself, however, if you tell a deliberate lie that affects the outcome of a trial or other legal decision. The Old French source of the word perjure is parjurer, "to break one's word," from the Latin root periurare, "to swear falsely."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perjure perjures perjured perjuring

Jones on Tuesday called Bellis a tyrant and said she would be forcing him to perjure himself and say “that I’m guilty and to say that I’m a liar.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022

“If the president were to perjure himself, tamper with witness testimony or corruptly destroy evidence, then such actions would violate well-established law,” the memo stated.

From New York Times ● Aug. 24, 2022

The fact that prosecutors will offer immunity could mean that they believe she did not perjure herself and that Peterson’s conviction will stand, Rahmani said.

From Fox News ● Feb. 8, 2022

Why did Wade give false witness and perjure himself on the witness stand?

From Slate ● Mar. 4, 2019

Now he will perjure himself; he will descend to the depths of infamy; he will make us blush to our finger-tips before these men—we women who have loved him.

From The Dramas of Victor Hugo: Mary Tudor, Marion de Lorme, Esmeralda by Victor Hugo

He perjures himself in public all the time.

From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2018

Spector’s wife perjures herself to cover for him without knowing the truth.

From Time ● Jan. 26, 2015

But his commander perjures himself, and Carrington's wife, who could save the day, refuses to help.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the thief-takers have Claude Duval by the throat at last; and there is a scene in court, where the young lady perjures herself unhesitatingly, and faints once more in the prisoner's arms.

From M. or N. "Similia similibus curantur." by G.J. Whyte-Melville

The greedy tradesman blasphemes over his losses; he lies and perjures himself over the price of his wares.

From Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province by Saint Thomas Aquinas

"You cannot call a person a liar, that's not on, that's implying someone has perjured themselves in court," he said.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2025

Colombo appealed the convictions, contending that the case should be dismissed because Michael English, the property manager of the apartment complex where Morris Jr. resided, gave perjured testimony before the grand jury.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025

Blanche requested that the verdict be thrown out based on the jury’s reliance on the testimony of Michael Cohen, who Blanche claimed perjured himself on the stand, and the request was quickly denied.

From Slate ● May 30, 2024

Other times he has come out fuming, like on Wednesday when he accused the government of lying after one of his lawyers alleged a witness had perjured himself.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

Clearly, Ralph Meyers has either perjured himself at trial or has perjured himself in front of this Court.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Latham is also accused of perjuring herself by lying about her involvement in a federal court deposition in 2022.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 15, 2023

Paradis has previously accused Feuer of knowing about wrongdoing in the case and has accused the former city attorney of perjuring himself during a 2019 deposition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

She also claimed that Passantino was aware of Hutchinson’s knowledge of Ornato’s story — and that when she expressed concerns to him about lying to investigators, Passantino reassured her that she was not perjuring herself.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2022

“The intent to deceive is a lie. And if you lie to the American people in a Senate-confirmed position, you are perjuring yourself and perjury is considered a high crime and misdemeanor,” Mr. Judd said.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 12, 2022

He went on perjuring himself as cheerful as a paid witness, and he'd have broken the Ananias record if he'd had time.

From Shorty McCabe by F. Vaux (Francis Vaux) Wilson