flagrante delicto
Americanadverb
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Law. in the very act of committing the offense.
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while having illicit sex with someone.
adverb
Etymology
Origin of flagrante delicto
From Latin: literally, “while the offense is (still) burning”
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.
Bats’ nocturnal and elusive lifestyle also means scientists rarely have the chance to observe them in flagrante delicto.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 20, 2023
Its owner, May Mamarbachi, was jailed under Bashar al-Assad for forwarding a cartoon of the dictator in flagrante delicto with the prime minister of Lebanon.
From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2020
The fossils of the bugs, in flagrante delicto, were found in northeastern China.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2013
Even when they involve 14-foot tiger sharks preserved in formaldehyde or pictures of Jeff Koons in flagrante delicto, commercial art gallery exhibitions in New York don’t often draw capacity crowds.
From New York Times ● Feb. 16, 2011
In due time we reached Sierra Leone without mishap and without adventure, after a moderately quick passage; and, our prizes having been taken in flagrante delicto, they were forthwith condemned.
From The Pirate Slaver A Story of the West African Coast by Overend, William Heysham
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.
