English - Vocabulary

Abstain (v)

Other forms: Abstention (n)

To choose not to do something, especially voting.

Accuse (v)

Other forms: Accusation (n), Accused (adj)

To say someone has committed a crime.

Acquit (v)

Other forms: Acquittal (n)

To declare a defendant not guilty of a crime.

Alibi (n)

Other forms: None

A claim that someone was elsewhere when a crime happened.

Allege (v)

Other forms: Allegation (n), Alleged (adj)

To claim something is true without proof.

Antagonize (v)

Other forms: Antagonistic (adj), Antagonist (n)

To make someone feel angry or hostile.

Assault (n, v)

Other forms: None

A physical attack; to attack someone physically.

Belligerently (adv)

Other forms: Belligerent (adj), Belligerence (n)

In a hostile or aggressive way.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (phrase)

Other forms: None

The legal standard of proof required for conviction in a criminal trial.

Bigot (n)

Other forms: Bigoted (adj), Bigotry (n)

A person who is intolerant of others' opinions or identities.

Burden of Proof (n)

Other forms: Burden (n, v)

The responsibility to prove an argument in court.

Charge (n, v)

Other forms: None

A formal accusation in a legal case; to formally accuse someone.

Circumstantial Evidence (n)

Other forms: None

Indirect evidence that suggests something happened but does not prove it directly.

Convict (n, v)

Other forms: Conviction (n)

A person found guilty of a crime; to find someone guilty of a crime.

Convince (v)

Other forms: Convincing (adj), Convincingly (adv)

To make someone believe or accept something as true.

Coroner (n)

Other forms: None

An official who examines the cause of death in suspicious cases.

Cross-Examine (v)

Other forms: Cross-Examination (n)

To question a witness from the opposing side in court.

Defense (n)

Other forms: Defend (v), Defendant (n)

The argument and evidence used to prove the defendant's innocence.

Defendant (n)

Other forms: None

A person accused of a crime in a court case.

Deliberate (v)

Other forms: Deliberation (n)

To carefully discuss or think about something before making a decision.

Discrepancy (n)

Other forms: None

A difference or inconsistency between facts.

Diverge (v)

Other forms: Divergence (n), Divergent (adj), Diverging (adj)

To go in a different direction from a common point; to differ.

Double Jeopardy (n)

Other forms: None

The legal principle that prevents someone from being tried twice for the same crime.

Elicit (v)

Other forms: Elicitation (n), Elicited (adj)

To draw out a response, answer, or fact from someone.

Evidence (n)

Other forms: Evidential (adj)

Facts or information that help prove something in a trial.

Exasperate (v)

Other forms: Exasperation (n), Exasperated (adj), Exasperating (adj)

To irritate or annoy someone intensely.

Exonerate (v)

Other forms: Exoneration (n), Exonerated (adj)

To clear someone from blame or fault, especially after due consideration.

Fallible (adj)

Other forms: Fallibility (n), Fallibly (adv)

Capable of making mistakes or being wrong.

First-Degree Murder (n)

Other forms: None

A planned and intentional killing.

Foreman (n)

Other forms: None

The leader of a jury who speaks on behalf of the jurors.

Grave (adj)

Other forms: Gravely (adv), Graveness (n)

Serious or solemn in manner or appearance; important and requiring careful consideration.

Hung Jury (n)

Other forms: None

A jury that cannot agree on a verdict.

Impartial (adj)

Other forms: Impartiality (n), Impartially (adv)

Treating all sides equally; fair and unbiased.

Indignant (adj)

Other forms: Indignation (n), Indignantly (adv)

Feeling or showing anger or annoyance at something perceived as unfair.

Menace (n)

Other forms: Menace (v), Menacing (adj), Menacingly (adv)

A person or thing that is likely to cause harm or danger.

Monopoly (n)

Other forms: None

Exclusive control over a product, service, or market.

Naive (adj)

Other forms: Naively (adv), Naivety (n)

Lacking experience or judgment.

Obscure (adj)

Other forms: Obscurity (n), Obscure (v)

Not well known or difficult to understand.

Perjury (n)

Other forms: Perjure (v)

Lying under oath in a legal setting.

Pertain (v)

Other forms: Pertinent (adj), Pertaining (adj)

To relate or be relevant to something.

Plead the Fifth (phrase)

Other forms: None

To refuse to answer a question in court to avoid self-incrimination.

Premeditate (v)

Other forms: Premeditation (n), Premeditated (adj)

To plan or think about something before doing it.

Preliminary (adj)

Other forms: None

Happening before something more important.

Prosecution (n)

Other forms: Prosecute (v), Prosecutor (n)

The legal party that presents a case against the defendant in a criminal trial.

Sentimental (adj)

Other forms: Sentiment (n), Sentimentality (n), Sentimentally (adv)

Showing or influenced by emotional feelings, often in an excessive or nostalgic way.

Testimony (n)

Other forms: Testify (v)

A formal statement given as evidence in court.

Unanimous (adj)

Other forms: Unanimously (adv)

In complete agreement by everyone involved.

Verdict (n)

Other forms: None

The final decision made by a jury in a trial.

Victim (n)

Other forms: Victimized (adj), Victimize (v)

A person harmed by a crime.

Witness (n, v)

Other forms: None

A person who sees an event happen; to see something happen.