scienter

[ sahy-en-ter ]

nounLaw.
  1. a mental state in which one has knowledge that one’s action, statement, etc., is wrong, deceptive, or illegal: often used as a standard of guilt: The court found that the company had the requisite scienter for securities fraud.

adverbLaw.
  1. knowingly or deliberately: His wife’s statements were made scienter.

Origin of scienter

1
First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin scienter “knowingly, consciously, skillfully, expertly,” from scient- (stem of sciēns ); see origin at science

Words Nearby scienter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for scienter

scienter

/ (saɪˈɛntə) /


adverb
  1. law knowingly; wilfully

Origin of scienter

1
from Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012