misdemeanor

  • 1misdemeanor — mis·de·mean·or /ˌmis di mē nər/ n: a crime that carries a less severe punishment than a felony; specif: a crime punishable by a fine and by a term of imprisonment not to be served in a penitentiary and not to exceed one year compare felony… …

    Law dictionary

  • 2Misdemeanor — Mis de*mean or, n. 1. Ill behavior; evil conduct; fault. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. (Law) A crime less than a felony. Wharton. [1913 Webster] Note: As a rule, in the old English law, offenses capitally punishable were felonies; all other indictable… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3misdemeanor — (n.) also misdemeanour, legal class of indictable offenses, late 15c.; from MIS (Cf. mis ) (1) wrong + M.E. demenure (see DEMEANOR (Cf. demeanor)). Related: Misdemeanors; misdemeanours …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 4misdemeanor — [mis΄də mēn′ər] n. [ MIS 1 + DEMEANOR] 1. Rare the act of misbehaving 2. Law any minor offense, as the breaking of a municipal ordinance, for which statute provides a lesser punishment than for a felony: the penalty is usually a fine or… …

    English World dictionary

  • 5Misdemeanor — For other uses, see Misdemeanor (disambiguation). Criminal law …

    Wikipedia

  • 6misdemeanor — noun Misdemeanor is used before these nouns: ↑assault, ↑charge …

    Collocations dictionary

  • 7misdemeanor — mis|de|mean|or [ ,mısdı minər ] noun count LEGAL a crime that is not as serious as a felony: His wife pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. a. MAINLY LITERARY a minor act of doing wrong …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 8misdemeanor — n. to commit a misdemeanor …

    Combinatory dictionary

  • 9misdemeanor — misdeed / misdemeanor [n] sin, crime breach of law, criminality, dirt*, dirty deed*, dirty pool*, fault, infringement, malefaction, misbehavior, misconduct, miscue, offense, peccadillo, slipup, transgression, trespass, villainy, violation, wrong …

    New thesaurus

  • 10misdemeanor — /misdamiynar/ Offenses lower than felonies and generally those punishable by fine, penalty, forfeiture or imprisonment otherwise than in penitentiary. Under federal law, and most state laws, any offense other than a felony is classified as a… …

    Black's law dictionary