suborn
Meanings
Verb
- incite to commit a crime or an evil deed
- "He suborned his butler to cover up the murder of his wife"
- procure (false testimony or perjury)
- induce to commit perjury or give false testimony
- "The President tried to suborn false witnesses"
- To induce (someone) to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially in a corrupt manner.
- To induce (someone) to commit an unlawful or malicious act, especially in a corrupt manner.
- To induce (someone, such as a witness) to commit perjury, for example by making a false accusation or giving false evidence.
- To achieve (some result; specifically, perjury) in a corrupt manner.
- To procure or provide (something) secretly and often in a dishonest manner.
- To make use of (something), especially for corrupt or dishonest reasons.
- To aid, assist, or support (something).
- To furnish or provide (something).
- To substitute (a thing) for something else, especially secretly and often in a dishonest manner.
Origin / Etymology
PIE word
*upó
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman suburner, subhorner, and Middle French suborner, subourner (“to induce (someone) to commit a crime (specifically perjury) or wrongdoing”) (modern French suborner (“to suborn; to bribe”)), and from its etymon Latin subōrnāre, the present active infinitive of subōrnō (“to incite, instigate, suborn; to instruct one for a secret purpose; to adorn, dress; to equip, furnish, provide; to make one appear as (something)”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘under’) + ōrnō (“to equip, furnish, provide; to adorn, decorate, ornament”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to put together, fit; to fix; to slot”)).
Cognates
* Catalan subornar
* Italian subornare
* Old Occitan subornar, sobornar
* Portuguese subornar
* Spanish subornar (obsolete), sobornar
Scrabble Score: 8
suborn is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordsuborn is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
suborn is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary