Verbrechen
See also: verbrechen
German edit
Etymology edit
17th century, nominalised infinitive of verbrechen (now in limited use), from Middle High German verbrechen (“to breach, violate”). Equivalent to ver- + brechen (“to break”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Verbrechen n (strong, genitive Verbrechens, plural Verbrechen)
- (countable, law, technical) a felony, indictable offence
- Synonym: schwere Straftat
- Antonym: Vergehen
- (countable, in common use often) a crime; any criminal offence
- Synonym: Straftat
- (uncountable, common use) crime (illegal activity as such, at large; criminals collectively)
- Synonyms: Kriminalität, Verbrechertum
Usage notes edit
- In Germany, Verbrechen is defined as a criminal offence punishable by a minimum penalty of at least one year in prison.
- In Austria and Switzerland, it is defined as a criminal offence punishable by a maximum penalty of at least three years in prison.
Declension edit
Declension of Verbrechen [neuter, strong]
Antonyms edit
Hyponyms edit
- Betrugsverbrechen, Gelegenheitsverbrechen, Gewohnheitsverbrechen, Gewaltverbrechen, Kapitalverbrechen, Rauschgiftverbrechen, Schwerverbrechen, Schwerstverbrechen, Straßenverbrechen
- das organisierte Verbrechen
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
- Verbrecher, verbrecherisch, verbrechen
- Verbrechensabnahme, Verbrechensaufklärung, Verbrechensbekämpfung, Verbrechensrate, Verbrechenszunahme
Further reading edit
- “Verbrechen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Verbrechen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “Verbrechen” in Duden online
- Verbrechen on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de