perjury
Americannoun
-
perjuries
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of perjury
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English perjurie, from Anglo-French, from Latin perjūrium, from perjūr(us) “swearing falsely” ( see perjure) + -ium -ium; replacing parjure, from Old French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
Perjury is the act of deliberately lying under oath. A defendant in a murder trial commits perjury when he swears he never met the murder victim before, even though he had a two-year relationship with her. Although the word perjury contains jury, members of the jury aren't likely to commit perjury, because they're not under oath and haven't sworn to be truthful. A witness in a trial can commit perjury by willfully lying about facts related to the case. Perjury isn't just a little white lie. It's a crime that can land the person who commits it in jail.
Vocabulary lists containing perjury
The Crucible
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You Be the Judge: Jud, Jur, Jus
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A Web of Lies
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In May 2025, a grand jury indicted Owens on one count of fraudulent schemes, one count of forgery, four counts of perjury and one count of tampering with physical evidence in Echard’s case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
Lawyers for Eugene Tenenbaum say he "denies in the strongest terms any suggestion that he committed perjury or contempt of court".
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Some of this was surely deliberate, to protect himself against perjury.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Falsely signing a vouching oath is perjury under Minnesota law, punishable by up to five years.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
"Well, you've indicted someone for perjury for contradicting the state's case. Do you intend to prosecute everyone who challenges the evidence in this case?"
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
This, Denery points out, gave liars some flexibility: They could perhaps justify their perjuries with a crop of favorable outcomes—not just for their neighbors, but for themselves too.
From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2015
The defense drew from Cook the admission that he had not been indicted for any of his perjuries.
From Time Magazine Archive
Several little harmless perjuries make an airtight case for the prosecution.
From Time Magazine Archive
But purgation was abolished after the Reformation by the statute of Elizabeth 'because it was only an outward appearance and shew of purgation, and was often the occasion of very great perjuries.'
From State Trials Vol. 2 (of 2) Political and Social by Various
He did not swear that he agreed to commit any frauds, perjuries, or forgeries.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 10 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Legal by Robert Green Ingersoll
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
