misdemeanour

US misdemeanor

/ (ˌmɪsdɪˈmiːnə) /

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noun

criminal law (formerly) an offence generally less heinous than a felony and which until 1967 involved a different form of trialCompare felony

any minor offence or transgression

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

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Words nearby misdemeanour

misdeed, misdeem, misdemean, misdemeanant, misdemeanor, misdemeanour, misderive, misdescribe, misdiagnose, misdiagnosis, misdial

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

How to use misdemeanour in a sentence

It was resolved that they had been guilty of a high crime and misdemeanour, and that they should be impeached.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay
But you shan't escape your misdemeanour in mauling those verses as you have done, by finding fault with my joke redevivus.
Handy Andy, Volume 2 (of 2)|Samuel Lover
Each discovery of a misdemeanour had only been the prelude to fresh and worse concealments and hardening.
Modern Broods|Charlotte Mary Yonge
Certainly twenty-two attendants on the Mass were “impanelled” for trial for their religious misdemeanour.
John Knox and the Reformation|Andrew Lang

But the spirit of the law clearly was that no misdemeanour should be punished more severely than the most atrocious felonies.
The History of England from the Accession of James II.|Thomas Babington Macaulay