suborn

[ suh-bawrn ]

/ səˈbɔrn /

verb (used with object)

to bribe or induce (someone) unlawfully or secretly to perform some misdeed or to commit a crime.

Law.

to induce (a person, especially a witness) to give false testimony.
to obtain (false testimony) from a witness.

Words nearby suborn

subordinated, subordinated debt, subordinating conjunction, subordination, subordinationism, suborn, subornation of perjury, suboscine, subotica, suboxide, subpapular

Origin of suborn

1525–35; < Latin subornāre to instigate secretly, orig., to supply, equivalent to sub- sub- + ornāre to equip; see adorn

OTHER WORDS FROM suborn

sub·or·na·tion

[suhb-awr-ney-shuh n] /ˌsʌb ɔrˈneɪ ʃən/, nounsub·or·na·tive

[suh-bawr-nuh-tiv] /səˈbɔr nə tɪv/, adjectivesub·orn·er, nounun·sub·orned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for subornation

The Duke of Kent, the Queen's father, declared that he was no party to the subornation of witnesses against his own brother.
The Impeachment of The House of Brunswick|Charles Bradlaugh
Subornation of perjury is procuring another to swear falsely; punishable as perjury.
The Government Class Book|Andrew W. Young
This devil of subornation, that talks of his lieutenancy, what could he ever have done without me?
The Visions of Dom Francisco de Quevedo Villegas|Dom Francisco de Quevedo
That no person convicted of perjury, or subornation of perjury, shall be capable of voting in any election.
Commentaries on the Laws of England|William Blackstone

He should be careful lest he incur the moral guilt of subornation of perjury, if not the legal offence.
An Essay on Professional Ethics|George Sharswood

British Dictionary definitions for subornation

suborn

/ (səˈbɔːn) /

verb (tr)

to bribe, incite, or instigate (a person) to commit a wrongful act

criminal law to induce (a witness) to commit perjury

Derived forms of suborn

subornation (ˌsʌbɔːˈneɪʃən), nounsubornative (sʌˈbɔːnətɪv), adjectivesuborner, noun

Word Origin for suborn

C16: from Latin subornāre, from sub- secretly + ornāre to furnish

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