perjure

American  

[pur-jer] / ˈpɜr dʒər /

verb (used with object)

perjures, present (3rd person singular) perjured, past participle, past perjuring present participle

1. to render (oneself ) guilty of swearing falsely or of willfully making a false statement under oath or solemn affirmation.

   The witness perjured herself when she denied knowing the defendant.

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perjure British  

/ ˈpɜːdʒə /

verb

1. (tr) criminal law to render (oneself) guilty of perjury

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• perjurement
  noun
• perjurer
  noun
• unperjuring
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• perjuring
  present
• perjured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• perjure
  simple
• perjures
  simple
• have perjured
  perfect
• has perjured
  perfect
• am perjuring
  progressive
• are perjuring
  progressive
• is perjuring
  progressive
• have been perjuring
  perfect progressive
• has been perjuring
  perfect progressive

Past

• perjured
  simple
• had perjured
  perfect
• was perjuring
  progressive
• were perjuring
  progressive
• had been perjuring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will perjure
  simple
• will have perjured
  perfect
• will be perjuring
  progressive
• will have been perjuring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of perjure

First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin perjūrāre “to swear falsely,” from per- “through,” i.e., “beyond the limits” ( see per-) + jūrāre “to swear,” literally, “to be at law” (derivative of jūs jus ¹ ( def. ) )

Explanation

To perjure is to lie after taking an oath in a courtroom to tell the truth. If a witness to a crime deliberately gives false information in front of a judge, they perjure themselves. It's possible to perjure yourself — or commit the crime of perjury — in a written statement or during any other legal transaction that requires you to swear you'll tell the truth. You only perjure yourself, however, if you tell a deliberate lie that affects the outcome of a trial or other legal decision. The Old French source of the word perjure is parjurer, "to break one's word," from the Latin root periurare, "to swear falsely."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perjure perjures perjured perjuring

She said the letters were part of a plan by Ms. Toebbe to pressure her husband to perjure himself by falsely saying she knew nothing about the plot.

From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2022

Jones on Tuesday called Bellis a tyrant and said she would be forcing him to perjure himself and say “that I’m guilty and to say that I’m a liar.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2022

One of those who testified against him in court has since told the BBC that it is "utterly absurd" to suggest nine women would perjure themselves as part of a political plot.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2021

Gleeson argued that Flynn did perjure himself, but that this should factor into his sentencing and not be the basis for an additional charge.

From Fox News ● Jun. 10, 2020

"Do you wish to perjure yourself?" asked Engelbert in a low voice, coming close to him.

From Regina or the Sins of the Fathers by Sudermann, Hermann

He perjures himself in public all the time.

From New York Times ● Mar. 18, 2018

Spector’s wife perjures herself to cover for him without knowing the truth.

From Time ● Jan. 26, 2015

But his commander perjures himself, and Carrington's wife, who could save the day, refuses to help.

From Time Magazine Archive

She either perjures herself a second time,—or else the diamonds, in regard to which my client is in jeopardy, were not in the house at all, and could not then have been stolen.

From The Eustace Diamonds by Trollope, Anthony

The greedy tradesman blasphemes over his losses; he lies and perjures himself over the price of his wares.

From Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province by Thomas, Aquinas, Saint

"You cannot call a person a liar, that's not on, that's implying someone has perjured themselves in court," he said.

From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2025

Colombo appealed the convictions, contending that the case should be dismissed because Michael English, the property manager of the apartment complex where Morris Jr. resided, gave perjured testimony before the grand jury.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025

Blanche requested that the verdict be thrown out based on the jury’s reliance on the testimony of Michael Cohen, who Blanche claimed perjured himself on the stand, and the request was quickly denied.

From Slate ● May 30, 2024

He was still on the witness stand when Forbes, whose reporters had discussed the size disparity with Weisselberg and revealed it publicly in 2017, published an article on its website suggesting he had perjured himself.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 1, 2024

“Iss!” said Demi the perjured, blissfully sucking his sugar, and regarding his first attempt as eminently successful.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

She echoed calls for the PPS to consider bringing charges against any living soldiers suspected of perjuring themselves in relation to the events of Bloody Sunday.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2025

Paradis has previously accused Feuer of knowing about wrongdoing in the case and has accused the former city attorney of perjuring himself during a 2019 deposition.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

Dallas police later filed cases with prosecutors accusing Montenegro of tampering with records and perjuring himself in the investigation.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2023

She also claimed that Passantino was aware of Hutchinson’s knowledge of Ornato’s story — and that when she expressed concerns to him about lying to investigators, Passantino reassured her that she was not perjuring herself.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2022

The impossibility of the stereograph's perjuring itself is a curious illustration of the law of evidence.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 45, July, 1861 by Various