malice aforethought

SEE SYNONYMS FOR malice aforethought ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Law.

a predetermination to commit an unlawful act without just cause or provocation (applied chiefly to cases of first-degree murder).

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disgruntle
to deprive of ability, qualification, or strength
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Also called malice prepense .

Origin of malice aforethought

First recorded in 1660–70

Words nearby malice aforethought

Malibran, Malibu board, malic, malic acid, malice, malice aforethought, malicious, malicious mischief, Mali empire, malign, malignancy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to malice aforethought

in cold blood, by design, malice prepense

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012