# Crime & Justice

**Type:** Topic
**Words:** 206

## About

Crime, policing, courts, punishment, and investigation.

## Words by Level

### A1
- pardon — Forgiveness for something wrong that someone has done.; frequency rank 1463
- sentence — A group of words that expresses a complete thought, usually starting with a capital letter and ending with a full stop.; frequency rank 2482

### A2
- police — The official organization, and its members, whose job is to keep order, prevent crime, and make sure people obey the law.; frequency rank 342
- case — A particular situation or example of something happening.; frequency rank 346
- murder — The crime of killing another person on purpose.; frequency rank 606
- evidence — Facts or signs that show whether something is true or real.; frequency rank 754
- crime — An act that breaks the law and can be punished.; frequency rank 856
- prison — A building where criminals are kept locked up as punishment.; frequency rank 894
- steal — To take something that belongs to someone else without permission.; frequency rank 1222

### B1
- jail — A place where people are locked up, especially while awaiting trial or for minor crimes.; frequency rank 1023
- victim — A person who is harmed, hurt, or killed by someone or something.; frequency rank 1085
- arrest — To take someone to a police station because they may have broken the law.; frequency rank 1097
- innocent — Not guilty of a crime or wrongdoing.; frequency rank 1183
- guilty — Having done something wrong or broken the law.; frequency rank 1197
- witness — To see something happen, especially an event or a crime.; frequency rank 1219
- suspect — To think that something is probably true, often something bad.; frequency rank 1313
- justice — Fair treatment of people, especially by the law.; frequency rank 1380
- investigation — The careful examination of something in order to find out the facts.; frequency rank 1519
- criminal — A person who has broken the law.; frequency rank 1539
- finding — Something discovered as a result of research or investigation.; frequency rank 1594
- punishment — Something unpleasant done to someone because they have done something wrong.; frequency rank 2809
- theft — The crime of stealing something.; frequency rank 4681
- accuse — To say that someone has done something wrong or illegal.; frequency rank 6123
- inquiry — A question or request for information.; frequency rank 7437
- outlaw — A criminal, especially one who is on the run from the law.; frequency rank 11240
- fixer — someone who intervenes with authorities for a person in trouble (usually using underhand or illegal methods for a fee); frequency rank 22498
- warder — a guard responsible for prisoners, especially in older British usage; frequency rank 44935

### B2
- trial — A legal process in court where evidence is examined to decide if someone is guilty of a crime.; frequency rank 1445
- jury — A group of people chosen to listen to a court case and decide whether someone is guilty.; frequency rank 2033
- squad — A small group of people working or trained together for a common purpose.; frequency rank 2503
- rape — To force someone to have sex against their will.; frequency rank 2593
- assault — To attack someone violently.; frequency rank 2871
- confession — A statement admitting that you have done something wrong.; frequency rank 3119
- defendant — a person or organization accused of a crime in a court case; frequency rank 3302
- testify — To give evidence in a court of law, usually under oath.; frequency rank 3642
- testimony — A formal statement made by a witness in a court of law.; frequency rank 3868
- fraud — The crime of deceiving people to gain money or an unfair advantage.; frequency rank 3876
- conspiracy — A secret plan by a group of people to do something harmful or illegal.; frequency rank 4370
- plead — To ask for something in a very emotional and urgent way.; frequency rank 6158
- exhibit — To show something publicly, especially in a museum or gallery.; frequency rank 7002
- probation — a court-ordered period in which an offender remains in the community under stated conditions instead of, or after, imprisonment; frequency rank 7014
- culprit — a person responsible for a crime, wrongdoing, or problem; frequency rank 7747
- burglary — The crime of breaking into a building in order to steal.; frequency rank 9422
- loot — money or goods stolen during a robbery, war, or period of disorder; frequency rank 9528
- accusation — A statement that someone has done something wrong or illegal.; frequency rank 9930
- eyewitness — a person who personally sees an event and can describe or testify about it; frequency rank 9954
- condemn — to say strongly that something is wrong or that you disapprove of it; frequency rank 10453
- prosecute — To officially accuse someone of a crime and try them in court.; frequency rank 10739
- imprisonment — The punishment of being kept in prison.; frequency rank 10829
- vandalism — deliberate or reckless damage to public or private property; frequency rank 16373
- piracy — The illegal copying or selling of films, music, software, or other protected work.; frequency rank 23234
- bloodstain — a mark or discolored area left by blood on a surface or material; frequency rank 38897
- inference — A conclusion you reach based on evidence or reasoning rather than direct information.; frequency rank 40700
- defraud — to obtain money, property, or a legal right from someone by deception; frequency rank 41554
- burgle — To break into a building and steal things from it.; frequency rank 54599

### C1
- cop — A police officer.; frequency rank 1019
- accused — The person charged with a crime in a court of law.; frequency rank 2795
- bail — Money paid so that an arrested person can be released until their trial, promising they will return to court.; frequency rank 3201
- prosecutor — A lawyer who argues in court that an accused person is guilty of a crime.; frequency rank 4126
- raid — A sudden surprise attack or visit, especially by police or soldiers, to make arrests or seize property.; frequency rank 4802
- prosecution — The process of charging and trying someone for a crime in court.; frequency rank 5306
- assassin — a person who deliberately murders someone, especially a prominent person in a planned surprise attack; frequency rank 5865
- plea — An urgent, emotional request for help.; frequency rank 6293
- conviction — A strong, firmly held belief or opinion.; frequency rank 6675
- forensic — Relating to the use of science to investigate crimes and provide evidence in court.; frequency rank 6894
- convict — To officially decide in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime.; frequency rank 7487
- inmate — A person kept in a prison or jail.; frequency rank 9666
- detection — The act of noticing or discovering that something exists or has happened.; frequency rank 14297
- vendetta — a prolonged and often violent feud in which a family, clan, or group seeks revenge for previous injuries or killings; frequency rank 15713
- dismissal — The act of removing someone from their job.; frequency rank 15866
- handcuff — a locking metal or plastic restraint placed around a wrist, usually used as one of a joined pair; frequency rank 17789
- hangman — an executioner whose duty is to put condemned people to death by hanging; frequency rank 19062
- implicate — To show that someone is involved in something wrong, especially a crime.; frequency rank 19973
- frisk — to search a person's clothing and body for concealed weapons, drugs, or other objects; frequency rank 22960
- complicity — involvement with others in a crime, wrongdoing, or harmful act; frequency rank 24558
- molest — sensitive: to touch or assault someone sexually without consent, especially a child; frequency rank 25454
- fatality — A death caused by an accident, disaster, or violence.; frequency rank 25782
- exonerate — to officially clear someone from blame, an accusation, or criminal responsibility; frequency rank 29698
- torturer — a person who deliberately inflicts severe physical or mental pain, often to punish, intimidate, or obtain information; frequency rank 33892
- thievery — the crime or practice of stealing things; frequency rank 35606
- premeditation — thought, planning, or deliberation before an action is carried out; frequency rank 36749
- conspirator — a person who joins others in a secret plan, especially one that is unlawful or harmful; frequency rank 39876
- captor — a person or group that captures and holds a person, animal, or place; frequency rank 40908
- perjure — to knowingly make a false statement under oath and thereby commit perjury, usually used reflexively; frequency rank 42896
- decapitate — to cut off or otherwise remove the head of a person, animal, or figure; frequency rank 44024
- six-shooter — a revolver with a cylinder designed to hold six cartridges; frequency rank 58915
- violator — a person or organization that infringes a law, rule, agreement, right, boundary, or another person's bodily autonomy; frequency rank 65042
- housebreaking — the crime of entering a house or other building unlawfully, typically with the intention of stealing; frequency rank 79679
- affidavit — A written statement that someone swears to be true, used as evidence in a court of law

### C2
- blackmail — the crime or practice of demanding money or compliance by threatening to reveal a secret or damaging information; frequency rank 4945
- solitary — Alone; done or existing without others.; frequency rank 7911
- thug — a violent criminal or a person hired to intimidate or attack others; frequency rank 9149
- abduction — the act of taking a person away unlawfully by force or deception; frequency rank 9919
- arson — malicious burning to destroy property; frequency rank 10066
- lynch — to kill someone without legal authority or a trial, especially by a mob and often by hanging; frequency rank 10136
- posse — a group of people summoned by a law officer to help keep order or pursue a suspect; frequency rank 11917
- smuggle — to move goods or people secretly and illegally across a border or through controls; frequency rank 12182
- perpetrator — a person who commits a crime, harmful act, or other wrongdoing; frequency rank 12224
- gunman — a criminal armed with a gun, especially a professional killer.; frequency rank 12446
- penitentiary — used for punishment or reform of criminals or wrongdoers; frequency rank 14113
- assailant — a person who physically attacks another person; frequency rank 14233
- felon — a person who has committed or been convicted of a felony, especially in United States law; frequency rank 14260
- smuggler — a person who secretly and illegally carries goods or people into or out of a country or restricted area; frequency rank 15600
- guillotine — a machine for executing a person by dropping a heavy blade through the neck; frequency rank 15676
- apprehend — To catch and arrest someone, especially a criminal.; frequency rank 17187
- avenger — a person who punishes someone in return for a wrong or injury; frequency rank 18632
- misdemeanor — A minor crime that is punished less severely than a serious one.; frequency rank 19478
- incriminate — to provide evidence or information suggesting that someone is guilty of a crime or wrongdoing; frequency rank 20052
- swindler — a person who obtains money or property from others through deception or fraud; frequency rank 20565
- embezzlement — the fraudulent theft or misappropriation of money or property entrusted to one's care; frequency rank 20659
- swag — informal: money or goods obtained by theft or other illegal activity; frequency rank 20786
- pickpocket — a thief who secretly steals from people's pockets or bags in public places; frequency rank 20902
- hooligan — a violent or destructive troublemaker, especially one acting as part of a group; frequency rank 21271
- mobster — a member of an organized criminal gang, especially the Mafia; frequency rank 23309
- forger — a person who fraudulently makes or alters documents, money, art, or other objects; frequency rank 23546
- ringleader — a person who leads (especially in illicit activities); frequency rank 23972
- poacher — someone who hunts or fishes illegally on the property of another; frequency rank 24113
- behead — to cut off a person's or animal's head, especially as a form of execution; frequency rank 24921
- punitive — Intended as punishment.; frequency rank 27894
- abductor — a person who unlawfully carries someone away and holds them captive; frequency rank 32857
- marauder — a person or member of a group that roams about to raid, steal, or attack; frequency rank 32923
- ferocity — Extreme fierceness or violence.; frequency rank 33593
- corroboration — the act of confirming a statement or theory with independent evidence; frequency rank 36665
- highwayman — historical: an armed robber, typically on horseback, who stopped and robbed travelers on public roads; frequency rank 37287
- shackle — a metal restraint for a wrist or ankle, usually one of a connected pair; figuratively, anything that severely restricts freedom; frequency rank 39583
- truncheon — a short, thick club carried as a weapon by a police officer; frequency rank 42354
- trespasser — a person who enters or remains on another person's land or property without permission or legal right; frequency rank 43366
- brigand — an armed robber or outlaw, especially one belonging to a band; frequency rank 43760
- bigamist — a person who marries someone while still legally married to another person; frequency rank 49077
- embezzle — to fraudulently take money or property that has been entrusted to one's care, especially from an employer or organization; frequency rank 53166
- filch — to steal something, especially a small or relatively low-value item, in a furtive way; frequency rank 61086
- gibbet — historical: a gallows or similar framework used to hang a person or display an executed person's body; frequency rank 70258
- aforethought — planned or considered in advance; premeditated, especially in the legal phrase 'malice aforethought'; frequency rank 73374
- fetter — a chain or shackle placed around the feet or legs to restrict movement; frequency rank 83466
- headsman — historical: an executioner who puts condemned people to death by beheading; frequency rank 87159
- corroborative — serving to support, confirm, or strengthen a statement or conclusion with additional evidence; frequency rank 91784
- pugnacious — ready and able to resort to force or violence; frequency rank 93540
- matricide — the killing of one's mother; frequency rank 96700
- parricide — the killing of one's father, mother, or another close relative; frequency rank 99257
- connivance — secret or tacit approval of wrongdoing, especially by deliberately ignoring it; frequency rank 101433
- waylay — to wait for someone in order to attack them or stop them unexpectedly; frequency rank 102474
- nobble — British informal: to bribe, persuade, intimidate, or otherwise secure improper influence over someone; frequency rank 103298
- larcenous — inclined to steal, or involving theft; frequency rank 108173
- purloin — formal or humorous: to steal or wrongfully take something, often secretly or in breach of trust; frequency rank 110179
- cutpurse — historical: a thief who steals purses or valuables from people in public, especially by cutting a purse from its fastening; frequency rank 117633
- bushranger — historical Australian usage: an escaped convict or other outlaw who lived in the bush and survived by robbery; frequency rank 121599
- litigant — a person or organization that is a party to a lawsuit; frequency rank 124993
- malefactor — a person who commits a crime or other wrongful act; a criminal or evildoer; frequency rank 131009
- housebreaker — a person who illegally enters a house, usually by force, in order to steal or commit another crime; frequency rank 140707
- footpad — historical: a robber who traveled and attacked people on foot rather than on horseback; frequency rank 147303
- durance — literary or archaic: imprisonment or forced confinement, especially for a long time; frequency rank 147402
- exculpate — formal: to clear a person from blame, guilt, or an accusation; frequency rank 157046
- thievish — inclined or given to stealing; frequency rank 165347
- reave — archaic or literary: to rob, plunder, or carry something away by force; frequency rank 172364
- depredation — an act of plundering, pillaging, or violently seizing property; frequency rank 176782
- hornswoggle — to deceive or trick someone, especially in order to deprive them of money or property; frequency rank 212879
- pilferer — a person who steals small items or small amounts; frequency rank 219868
- cracksman — dated or literary: a burglar, especially one skilled at breaking open safes; frequency rank 220862
- footmark — a mark or impression left by a foot or shoe on a surface; frequency rank 241458
- body snatcher — historical: a person who illegally removed recently buried corpses from graves, especially to sell them for anatomical dissection; frequency rank 309222
- unjudged — not evaluated, decided, or subjected to a legal judgment or trial; frequency rank 357066
- peculation — the embezzlement or fraudulent appropriation of money or property entrusted to one's care, especially public funds; frequency rank 404744
- malversation — corrupt or dishonest conduct in a public office, trust, or administrative role; frequency rank 617668
- smouch — chiefly dialectal: to obtain something by stealing or trickery; frequency rank 703384
- defalcation — law: intentional or reckless misuse of money or property entrusted to one's care; frequency rank 1318961
- prisonhouse — a prison or the principal building of a prison
- amercement — historical law: a monetary penalty whose amount was set at the discretion of a court or lord
- filicide — the killing of a person's own child or children

### C2+
- safecracking — the practice of defeating a safe's or vault's security mechanisms in order to open it, especially illegally; frequency rank 90326
- snitcher — an informer who secretly reports another person's wrongdoing to the police or another authority; frequency rank 126912
- purloiner — a person who steals or takes something dishonestly; frequency rank 1272611
- sham — a fraud or pretence; fake; to feign
- delinquency — minor crime or a failure to meet an obligation
- justiciary — an officer who administers justice, or relating to the administration of justice
- nocent — harmful or injurious; guilty
- punition — the act of punishing; punishment
- castigation — severe criticism or punishment
- unjust — not fair or in accordance with justice
- chastisement — severe punishment or rebuke
- childlike — having the innocent or trusting qualities of a child
- committal — the act of consigning, as to prison, custody, or the grave
- dovelike — resembling a dove; gentle, innocent, or peaceable
- lenient — merciful or tolerant, especially in punishment
- abscond — to depart secretly and hurriedly, especially to avoid arrest or with stolen funds
- admissible — acceptable or allowable, especially as evidence in court
- bastille — a fortress or prison
- criminate — to accuse of or charge with a crime; to incriminate
- crimination — the act of accusing someone of a crime; an accusation
- damnation — condemnation to eternal punishment in hell
- exploratory — relating to or carried out for the purpose of investigation
- fraudful — full of fraud; deceitful or treacherous
- fraudulent — obtained, done, or characterized by deception or fraud
- inculpate — to accuse or incriminate; to show as guilty
- punitory — inflicting or intended as punishment
- sackless — innocent or guiltless; also dialectally feeble or simple-minded
- brutality — savage physical violence or cruelty
- crimeful — full of crime; guilty or criminal (archaic)
- detonate — to explode or cause to explode with sudden violence
- felonious — involving or constituting a serious crime; criminal
- imposure — an act of imposition or deception; a fraud or imposture
- indict — to formally charge someone with a serious crime
- inquisition — a prolonged or intensive, often harsh, questioning or investigation
- judicatory — relating to the administration of justice; a court or tribunal
- larceny — the unlawful taking of another's personal property; theft
- nefarious — wicked or criminal in the extreme
- nick — a small cut or notch; (informal) to steal or arrest