Standard Lemma guide

perjury

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈpɜː(ɹ)d͡ʒəɹi/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: P ER1 JH ER0 IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: law

Examples

  • We declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

criminal offense of making false statements under oath

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bearing false witness, lying under oath

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: misdemeanor, misdemeanour, infraction, violation, infringement

History

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman perjurie, from Latin perjūrāre (“swear falsely”), from per- + jūrāre. Displaced native Old English mānāþ (literally “false oath”).

Across languages

Translations

54 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: شَهَادَة زُور — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Belarusian: ілжэсве́дчанне (ilžesvjédčannje) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Belarusian: лжэсве́дчанне (lžesvjédčannje) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Belarusian: клятвапарушэ́нне (kljatvaparušénnje) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Bulgarian: лъжесвиде́телство (lǎžesvidételstvo) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Catalan: perjuri — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Chinese Mandarin: 偽證 /伪证 (wěizhèng, wèizhèng) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Chinese Mandarin: 偽證罪 /伪证罪 (wěizhèngzuì, wèizhèngzuì) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Czech: křivé svědectví — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Czech: křivá výpověď — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Danish: mened — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Danish: falsk forklaring — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Dutch: valse getuigenis — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Dutch: meineed — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Esperanto: ĵurrompo — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Finnish: väärä vala — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Finnish: perätön lausuma — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • French: faux témoignage — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Georgian: ცრუმოწმეობა (crumoc̣meoba) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • German: Meineid — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Greek: ψευδορκία (psevdorkía) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Ancient Greek: ἐπιορκία (epiorkía) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Hungarian: hamis tanúzás — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Icelandic: meinsæri — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Irish: mionn bréige — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Irish: mionn éithigh — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Italian: falsa testimonianza — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Japanese: 偽誓 (gisei) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Japanese: 偽証 (gishō) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Japanese: 偽証罪 (gishōzai) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Korean: 위증 (wijeung) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Latin: periūrium — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Macedonian: кривоклетство (krivokletstvo) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Macedonian: лажно сведочење (lažno svedočenje) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Māori: oati teka — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Norwegian: falsk forklaring — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Norwegian: mened — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Old English: mānāþ — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Polish: krzywoprzysięstwo — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Portuguese: perjúrio — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Romanian: mărturie mincinoasă — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Russian: лжесвиде́тельство (lžesvidételʹstvo) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Russian: клятвопреступле́ние (kljatvoprestuplénije) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Serbo-Croatian: krivokletstvo — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Serbo-Croatian: krivorečstvo — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Spanish: perjurio — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Swedish: mened — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Tagalog: pagbubulaan — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Tagalog: sambampanday — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Turkish: yalancı şahitlik — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Turkish: yalancı tanıklık — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Ukrainian: лжесві́дчення (lžesvídčennja) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Ukrainian: кривосві́дчення (kryvosvídčennja) — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath
  • Welsh: camdystiolaeth — deliberate giving of false or misleading testimony under oath