victimless

American  

[vik-tim-lis] / ˈvɪk tɪm lɪs /

adjective

1. (of a crime or misdeed) not having any victim; not causing direct harm to any specific person.

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Explanation

When something is victimless, no one is harmed by it. If you accidentally run a stop sign on an empty road and nobody gets hurt, it makes sense to consider it a victimless crime. The adjective victimless often refers to a punishable crime that didn't really hurt anyone; in other words, there's no victim. For example, it might be illegal to loiter in front of the library at night, but it's really a victimless offense. This word comes from the Latin root victima, "person or animal killed in sacrifice," and -less, "free from."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

victimless

Lan said the sentence showed that unlicensed gambling was not a "victimless offence" and warned those who profit from it while ignoring safeguards designed to protect people "can expect to be brought before the courts".

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

"It's not victimless," she said of the hate directed at her office.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

“Tax evasion is not a victimless crime,” Atty.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

But thousands of other entrepreneurs and investors will benefit once the fiction of victimless disgorgement is set aside and the SEC focuses on punishing fraud with actual victims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

No more head-scratching or dismissive shrugs; no more feeble excuses about "lack of computer-trained officers" or the low priority of "victimless" white-collar telecommunication crimes.

From The Hacker Crackdown, law and disorder on the electronic frontier by Bruce Sterling

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