lese majesty

[lez, leez]

See more synonyms for lese majesty on Thesaurus.com

noun

Law.
1. a crime, especially high treason, committed against the sovereign power.
2. an offense that violates the dignity of a ruler.
an attack on any custom, institution, belief, etc., held sacred or revered by numbers of people: Her speech against Mother's Day was criticized as lese majesty.

Also lèse majesty, lèse maj·es·té [lez mah-juh-stey; lez maj-uh-stee, leez] /ˈlɛz ˌmɑ dʒəˈsteɪ; ˈlɛz ˈmædʒ ə sti, ˈliz/.

Origin of lese majesty

1530–40; < French lèse-majesté, after Latin (crīmen) laesae mājestātis (the crime) of injured majesty

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for lese majesty

boldness, coarseness, contempt, discourtesy, dishonor, flippancy, hardihood, impertinence, impiety, impudence, incivility, insolence, irreverence, sacrilege, impoliteness