perjury
noun
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The prefix per- in Latin often meant "harmfully". So witnesses who perjure themselves do harm to the truth by knowingly telling a lie. Not all lying is perjury, only lying under oath; so perjury generally takes place either in court or before a legislative body such as Congress. To avoid committing perjury, a witness or defendant may "take the Fifth": that is, refuse to answer a question because the answer might be an admission of guilt, and the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution forbids forcing a citizen to admit to being guilty of a crime.
Examples of perjury in a Sentence
Albinson Linares, NBC News, 20 Sep. 2024
Jenkins was ultimately indicted for perjury but prosecutors granted her immunity due to the importance of her testimony.
—Samantha Stutsman, Peoplemag, 20 Sep. 2024
Any voter in the United States may cast a ballot in federal elections simply by attesting to their citizenship under penalty of perjury.
—Faith E. Pinho, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2024
Voters do so under the penalty of perjury, meaning they can be held criminally liable if they are found to have provided false information.
—Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 11 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for perjury 
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Cite this Entry
“Perjury.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perjury. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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perjury
noun
Legal Definition
perjury
noun
Anglo-French perjurie, parjurie, from Latin perjurium, from perjurus deliberately giving false testimony, from per- detrimental to + jur-, jus law
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