misdemeanor
/ˌmɪsdɪˈmiːnə(ɹ)/ noun
Forms misdemeanors misdemeanour
- noun (criminal law, historical in UK) A lesser criminal act in most common law legal systems, generally punished less severely than a felony. “He was charged with a misdemeanor rather than a felony.”
- noun Any act of misbehavior. “petty misdemeanor”
Synonyms
petty crime delinquency misdeed wrongdoing crime delict error malfeasance misdoing offense peccadillo sin tort tortfeasance transgression veniality villainy wrong misdemeanour infraction violation infringement
Etymology
From mis- + demeanor.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “misdemeanor”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details