Wordbay · Law & order
Words from law and order
The courtroom, the contract and the rulebook: legal and official words you meet in the news, explained plainly.
Everyday (23)
- acquit verb. To declare formally that someone is not guilty of a criminal charge.
- affidavit noun. A written statement sworn to be true, for use as evidence in court.
- clemency noun. Mercy or leniency shown by someone with the power to punish.
- concurrent adjective. Happening or existing at the same time.
- contraband noun. Goods brought into or out of a country illegally.
- culpable adjective. Deserving blame for a wrong or a failure.
- disinterested adjective. Not swayed by any personal gain; impartial.
- embezzle verb. To steal money you have been trusted to look after, such as an employer’s.
- extradite verb. To hand over an accused person to another country or state to face trial there.
- filibuster noun. A tactic of talking at great length in a debate so that a vote cannot take place.
- flout verb. To ignore a rule, law or custom openly and without shame.
- injunction noun. A court order requiring someone to do, or stop doing, a particular thing.
- insolvent adjective. Unable to pay one’s debts when they are due.
- jurisdiction noun. The official power to make legal decisions, or the area where that power applies.
- liability noun. Legal responsibility for something, especially for paying a debt or damages.
- loophole noun. A gap or ambiguity in a rule that lets people avoid what it was meant to do.
- perjury noun. The crime of lying in court after swearing to tell the truth.
- plagiarism noun. Passing off someone else's words or ideas as one's own.
- precedent noun. An earlier event or decision used as a guide or justification for later ones.
- rebut verb. To argue against a claim, or show with evidence that it is false.
- sovereignty noun. Supreme power or authority, especially a country's right to govern itself without outside control.
- verdict noun. The decision of a jury or judge on whether someone is guilty.
- vigilante noun. A person who takes the law into their own hands to punish suspected wrongdoers.
Well-read (29)
- abeyance noun. A state of temporary disuse or suspension.
- abscond verb. To leave hurriedly and secretly, often to avoid arrest or with something stolen.
- arraign verb. To call someone before a court to answer a criminal charge.
- arrears noun. Money that is owed and should already have been paid.
- codicil noun. A later addition to a will that changes or adds to it.
- collusion noun. Secret cooperation between people in order to cheat, deceive or break the law.
- dereliction noun. Shameful failure to do one’s duty.
- disenfranchise verb. To take away someone's right to vote, or to leave them without a voice or influence.
- exculpate verb. To show or declare that someone is not to blame.
- fungible adjective. Interchangeable with any other item of the same kind, as one pound coin is with another.
- impunity noun. Freedom from punishment or from bad consequences.
- indemnity noun. A promise to cover someone’s losses or damages, or the money paid to do so.
- indigent adjective. Poor and lacking the basic necessities of life.
- litigious adjective. Too ready to go to court to settle disagreements.
- malfeasance noun. Wrongdoing, especially by someone in public office.
- mitigate verb. To make something bad less severe or painful.
- moot adjective. Open to argument and not yet settled.
- perpetuity noun. The state of lasting for ever, or for an unlimited time.
- probate noun. The official process of proving a will valid so that the estate can be shared out.
- proscribe verb. To forbid or ban something officially.
- purview noun. The range of things a person or body deals with or has authority over.
- recidivist noun. A convicted criminal who keeps reoffending.
- recuse verb. Of a judge or official: to step away from a case because of a possible conflict of interest.
- scofflaw noun. A person who habitually flouts the law, especially small laws.
- sequester verb. To isolate or keep apart, as a jury during a trial.
- subpoena noun. A legal order requiring someone to attend court or hand over evidence.
- suffrage noun. The right to vote in public elections.
- travesty noun. A shockingly bad or absurd imitation of something.
- usury noun. The lending of money at unreasonably high rates of interest.
Advanced (17)
- bailiwick noun. A person’s particular area of skill, interest or responsibility.
- barratry noun. The offence of stirring up needless lawsuits and quarrels.
- bezzle noun. The hidden total of undiscovered embezzlement at any moment, which makes people feel richer than they are.
- champerty noun. An outsider paying for someone’s lawsuit in return for a share of anything won.
- contumacious adjective. Stubbornly disobedient to authority, especially to a court.
- desuetude noun. A state of no longer being used or practised.
- escheat noun. The passing of property to the state, or once to a lord, when its owner dies without heirs.
- malversation noun. Corrupt conduct in a position of trust, especially the misuse of public money.
- misprision noun. The offence of concealing your knowledge of a serious crime, or misconduct in public office.
- ordinance noun. An official order or rule, especially a local law.
- peculation noun. The embezzling of public money or property by someone trusted with it.
- pecuniary adjective. Relating to or consisting of money.
- pettifogger noun. A lawyer who handles petty cases with quibbles and dubious tricks.
- prorogue verb. To end a session of a parliament without dissolving it, so that it can meet again later.
- suborn verb. To bribe or persuade someone to do wrong, especially to lie under oath.
- sumptuary adjective. Relating to laws that limit private spending on luxuries such as food or clothes.
- usufruct noun. The right to use another’s property and enjoy its income without owning or harming it.