malice aforethought

Noun

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

Source: WordNet

Synonyms

mens rea design malice planning intention intent calculation malignancy premeditation forethought harmfulness deliberateness devilry devilment by design
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Antonyms

chance disorder confusion charity chaos mess
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Hypernyms

planning preparation provision

Hyponyms

premeditation

Examples

All that was required for malice aforethought to exist is that the perpetrator act with one of the four states of mind that constitutes "malice." Source: Internet

For example, malice aforethought is used as a requirement for committing capital murder. Source: Internet

The definition of a crime is thus constructed using only these elements rather than the colorful language of mens rea: Dubber p. 46 Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought. Source: Internet

Without malice aforethought I had given them the best show that was ever staged in their territory since the landing of the Pilgrims! Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms

malic malic acid malice malice in fact malice in law malice murder