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perjure

/ˈpʌrdʒər/
IPA guide

Other forms: perjured; perjuring; perjures

To perjure is to lie after taking an oath in a courtroom to tell the truth. If a witness to a crime deliberately gives false information in front of a judge, they perjure themselves.

It's possible to perjure yourself — or commit the crime of perjury — in a written statement or during any other legal transaction that requires you to swear you'll tell the truth. You only perjure yourself, however, if you tell a deliberate lie that affects the outcome of a trial or other legal decision. The Old French source of the word perjure is parjurer, "to break one's word," from the Latin root periurare, "to swear falsely."

Definitions of perjure
  1. verb
    knowingly tell an untruth in a legal court and render oneself guilty of perjury
    see moresee less
    type of:
    lie
    tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive
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