crime

A crime is an act or instance that is considered to be against the morals or laws of society, as in Burglary and grand theft auto are crimes.

A person could also be said to have committed a crime against nature or a crime against humanity if they performed especially offensive or taboo acts.

A crime can also mean illegal activity in general or a frequent committing of such activity, as in The superhero was dedicated to fighting crime.

Crime can also mean a repeated or frequent performing of illegal acts, as in The mobsters lived a life of crime. 

And crime can be used more generally to refer to any offense or sin, as in The man swore his neighbor would pay for his crime of letting his dogs waltz through his yard. 

Informally, crime can be used to mean a regrettable thing, as in It is a crime that the musician died so young. 

The word criminal can be used to mean both a person who commits crime as well as an adjective for things related to crime.

Example: Publishing someone’s words as your own is a crime.

The first records of crime come from around 1200. It ultimately comes from the Latin crīmin-, a stem of crīmen, which means “charge” or “crime.” Crime was as much a problem for the ancient Romans as it is for us today.

Crime exists in every society and probably goes back to primitive humans. It is almost always the job of a justice system to prevent crime or punish those responsible for it. Today, in many societies people who commit crimes are fined, imprisoned, or given even harsher punishments.

There is a lot of debate about the best way to handle crime. In popular culture, it’s common to depict societies that have no crime, such as through the use of technology or harsh methods.

What are some other forms related to crime?

• crimeless (adjective)
• crimelessness (noun)
• anticrime (adjective)
• supercrime (noun)

What are some synonyms for crime?

• transgression
• felony
• infraction
• lawlessness
• wrongdoing

What are some words that share a root or word element with crime? 

• criminal
• crime against nature
• crime against humanity

What are some words that often get used in discussing crime?

• law
• justice
• illegal
• crook
• thief
• rate

While the vast majority of people are against crime, people often disagree on what should or shouldn’t be considered a crime.

If you win the Powerball now you pretty much have an obligation to become a superhero. Batman, Iron Man, doesn't matter, fight crime

— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) January 10, 2016

Birmingham-based @ErdingtonRugby crowned Gallacher Rugby Club of the Season. Praised for using rugby to prevent crime and as a tool to offer hot meals to kids who would not otherwise get them.

— Alex Spink (@alexspinkmirror) October 9, 2020

It should be a crime to charge people $1700 a month to rent, with a $600 pet deposit per pet, and a monthly pet fee of $50 per pet.

— Bex 🌈 (@BEXasaurusrexx) October 11, 2020

Which of the following is a synonym of crime?

A. justice
B. accident
C. felony
D. carelessness