in flagrante delicto
Britishadverb
Etymology
Origin of in flagrante delicto
Latin, literally: with the crime still blazing
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
The fossils of the bugs, in flagrante delicto, were found in northeastern China.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2013
Thus discovered, Longaville resorts to words uttered by many a soul surprised in flagrante delicto: “I can explain!”
From New York Times ● Aug. 13, 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
God forgive him the fatal accuracy with which he placed every link in a chain of evidence so condemning that I confess poor George seemed almost to have been taken in flagrante delicto.
From Miscellanea by Juliana Horatia Gatty Ewing
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.