scienter
[ sahy-en-ter ]
nounLaw.
a mental state in which one has knowledge that one’s action, statement, etc., is wrong, deceptive, or illegal: often used as a standard of guilt: The court found that the company had the requisite scienter for securities fraud.
adverbLaw.
knowingly or deliberately: His wife’s statements were made scienter.
Origin of scienter
1First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin scienter “knowingly, consciously, skillfully, expertly,” from scient- (stem of sciēns ); see origin at science
Words Nearby scienter
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for scienter
scienter
/ (saɪˈɛntə) /
adverb
law knowingly; wilfully
Origin of scienter
1from Latin
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
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