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.

RELATED WORDS

instigate, incite, procure, bribe

Nearby words

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

Related formssub·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 suborned

In the 1950s, people worried that government officials who traveled abroad might have been suborned by communist agents.
'Transparency' is Overrated|David Frum|July 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He seduced and suborned some of its biggest stars with big paydays delivered to secret bank accounts.
Raj Deserved It|Allan Dodds Frank|October 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
I have fought the claim, but witnesses were suborned and I cannot prove that I was in no way responsible.
Two Boys of the Battleship|Frank V. Webster
She mended and darned for them and suborned old women to help her.
The Rough Road|William John Locke

So Messalina had suborned her sons tutor, Silius, to accuse Asiaticus of corrupting the army.
Under Csars' Shadow|Henry Francis Colby
Then the crafty Hagen, who had been suborned by Brunhild to the baleful deed, bided his time.
The Classic Myths in English Literature and in Art (2nd ed.) (1911)|Charles Mills Gayley
Some wicked men, desirous of disgracing the anchorite, suborned a harlot to bewitch him.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume 1 (of 16)|Sabine Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for suborned

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 Formssubornation (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

Word Origin and History for suborned

suborn

"to procure by bribery, to lure (someone) to commit a crime," 1520s (implied in subornation), from Middle French suborner (13c.), from Latin subornare "suborn," originally "equip," from sub "under, secretly" (see sub-) + ornare "equip," related to ordo "order" (see order). Related: Suborned; suborning.