suborn

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /səˈbɔrn/ UK /səˈbɔːn/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to induce someone to commit an unlawful act, especially perjury

The defendant was charged with attempting to suborn a witness.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to induce someone to commit... bribe induce incite corrupt instigate

Word family

Derived forms subornationsuborner

Related forms ornament ordain

Etymology

From Latin subornāre ('to equip secretly, incite to crime'), from sub- ('secretly, under') + ornāre ('to equip, furnish, adorn').

sub Latin ornāre Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# suborn

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /səˈbɔrn/
**IPA (UK):** /səˈbɔːn/

## Meanings
1. to induce someone to commit an unlawful act, especially perjury

## Examples
- The defendant was charged with attempting to suborn a witness.

## Synonyms
- bribe
- induce
- incite
- corrupt
- instigate

## Derived Forms
- subornation
- suborner

## Related Forms
- ornament
- ordain

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sub
- Root: ornāre

## Etymology
From Latin subornāre ('to equip secretly, incite to crime'), from sub- ('secretly, under') + ornāre ('to equip, furnish, adorn').

## AI Etymology
Suborn is from Latin subornāre ('to equip secretly, incite to crime'), from sub- ('secretly, under') + ornāre ('to equip, furnish, adorn'). Important recorded forms include sub (Latin) and ornāre (Latin). Morphologically, the sub- element contributes the sense of under, below, secondary status, or movement from beneath, with the base naming the field of application. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers to induce someone to commit an unlawful act, especially perjury. The wider family includes derived forms such as subornation and suborner and related words such as ornament and ordain.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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