plagiarism
Americannoun
-
an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author.
It is said that he plagiarized Thoreau's plagiarism of a line written by Montaigne.
- Synonyms:
- cribbing, borrowing, theft, piracy, infringement, appropriation
-
a piece of writing or other work reflecting such unauthorized use or imitation.
“These two manuscripts are clearly plagiarisms,” the editor said, tossing them angrily on the floor.
noun
-
the act of plagiarizing
-
something plagiarized
Discover More
Similar theft in music or other arts is also called plagiarism.
Other Word Forms
- plagiarist noun
- plagiaristic adjective
Etymology
Origin of plagiarism
First recorded in 1615–25; plagiar(y) + -ism
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.
And after resolving a plagiarism dispute that delayed its release last year, the French-language thriller “The Hunt,” about a deadly encounter between two groups of hunters, is finally landing on March 4.
From MarketWatch
Sales of the book were halted in late 2023 after Neil said he found evidence of plagiarism in an introduction Hill wrote, a mistake she has acknowledged.
In June 2025, Disney and Universal sued AI firm Midjourney over its image generator, which the Hollywood giants alleged was a "bottomless pit of plagiarism".
From BBC
The real author describes it as a combination of plagiarism and banality.
From BBC
Alessandro Gallenzi made the shock plagiarism discovery, which he described as "wholesale", while he was editing a new collection of Thomas's poetry.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
