malice aforethought
noun Law.
a predetermination to commit an unlawful act without just cause or provocation (applied chiefly to cases of first-degree murder).
Nearby words
malibran, malibu board, malic, malic acid, malice, malice aforethought, malicious, malicious mischief, malign, malignancy, malignant
Origin of malice aforethought
First recorded in 1660–70
Also called malice prepense.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for malice aforethought
malice aforethought
noun criminal law
the predetermination to do an unlawful act, esp to kill or seriously injure
the intent with which an unlawful killing is effected, which must be proved for the crime to constitute murderSee also murder, manslaughter
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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