Prosecution Meaning
/ˌpɹɒs.ɪˈkjuː.ʃən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe act of prosecuting a scheme or endeavor.
nounThe institution of legal proceedings (particularly criminal) against a person.
Sentence Examples
The prosecution condemned the defendant for kidnapping a child.
A loophole in the law allowed him to escape prosecution.
Prosecution for a first minor offence rarely leads to imprisonment.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the criminal case lasted over two years in court.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ presented its case over three days, calling twelve witnesses to support its argument.
Word Origin & History
Equivalent to prosecute + -ion, from Middle French prosecution, from Late Latin prōsecutio, from Latin prōsequor (“follow, pursue”), from pro- (“onward”) + sequor (“follow”) (English sequel). Compare persecution, and see more at prosecute.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Such a scandal as the prosecution of a brother for forgery—with a verdict of guilty—is a most truly horrible, deplorable, fatal thing. It takes the respectability out of a family perhaps at a critical moment, when the family is just assuming the robes of respectability: […] it is a black spot which all the soaps ever advertised could never wash off."
— 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
"The justices declared that the statute does not establish an age of consent, and declared that in future prosecutions of persons charged with "indecent assault and battery" the state will have to prove that the alleged victim did not consent to the act."
— 1983 December 10, Larry Goldsmith, “Massachusetts Court Rules on Age of Consent”, in Gay Community News, volume 11, number 21, page 1:
"The prosecution case was that the men forced the sisters to strip, threw their clothes over the bridge, then raped them and participated in forcing them to jump into the river to their deaths. As he walked off the bridge, Clemons was alleged to have said: "We threw them off. Let's go.""
— 2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the criminal case lasted over two years in court.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ presented its case over three days, calling twelve witnesses to support its argument.