suborn
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bribe or induce (someone) unlawfully or secretly to perform some misdeed or to commit a crime
The drug cartel suborned the local police department to turn a blind eye to their trafficking.
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Law.
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to induce (a person, especially a witness) to give false testimony.
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to obtain (false testimony) from a witness.
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verb
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to bribe, incite, or instigate (a person) to commit a wrongful act
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criminal law to induce (a witness) to commit perjury
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has subornedperfect 3rd person singular
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have subornedperfect
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am suborningprogressive 1st person singular
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are suborningprogressive
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have been suborningperfect progressive
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suborningparticiple
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subornssingular 3rd person
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has been suborningperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is suborningprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had subornedperfect
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had been suborningperfect progressive
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subornedsimple
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was suborningprogressive singular
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were suborningprogressive plural
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subornedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of suborn
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin subornāre “to instigate secretly, prepare clandestinely,” originally, “to supply,” equivalent to sub-, preposition and prefix + ornāre “to equip,” from an assumed ordnāre, a derivative of the noun ordō (stem ordin- ) “line, row, rank, grade”; see origin at sub-, order
Explanation
One of the reasons Mafia bosses are so good at avoiding prison is that they know how to suborn witnesses and jurors — that is, to bribe people to lie. After all, it wouldn't be nice if an accident were to happen on the way to court, right? Technically speaking, suborn doesn't just mean induce someone to conveniently "forget" something in the witness stand, or otherwise get creative with their imagination. An inducement to any kind of crime is suborning, but by far the most common use is in the legal sense above. Or "witness tampering," as the cops call it.
Vocabulary lists containing suborn
The Tragedy of Macbeth
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act II
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Oedipus the King
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Ahamed, an unapologetic silver man, goes so far in his advocacy of remedial government action as to suborn the long-departed author of “Lombard Street,” published in 1873, to bear false witness.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
“While government agents are permitted to coach cooperating witnesses during the course of an investigation,” he said in an order, “they are not permitted to suborn the commission of a crime.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2020
He’s so important that people even pour their efforts into trying to corrupt or suborn him.
From The Verge • Feb. 4, 2019
Number two, I am well aware and have a lot of experience in observing what the Russians will do to try to suborn American citizens, to get Americans to this to work for them.
From MSNBC • Aug. 18, 2018
I was that Roman Paulus whom thou didst suborn.
From Cleopatra by Haggard, Henry Rider
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
