| Learning / English Dictionary |
MALICE AFORETHOUGHT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (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
Synonyms:
malice aforethought; mens rea
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
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)
