MALICE AFORETHOUGHT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does malice aforethought mean? 

• MALICE AFORETHOUGHT (noun)
  The noun MALICE AFORETHOUGHT has 1 sense:

1. (law) criminal intent; the thoughts and intentions behind a wrongful act (including knowledge that the act is illegal); often at issue in murder trials

  Familiarity information: MALICE AFORETHOUGHT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MALICE AFORETHOUGHT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(law) criminal intent; the thoughts and intentions behind a wrongful act (including knowledge that the act is illegal); often at issue in murder trials

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

malice aforethought; mens rea

Hypernyms ("malice aforethought" is a kind of...):

planning; preparation; provision (the cognitive process of thinking about what you will do in the event of something happening)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "malice aforethought"):

premeditation ((law) thought and intention to commit a crime well in advance of the crime; goes to show criminal intent)