English Vocabulary for Crime and Law

Crime and Law Vocabulary

Crimes

• Burgle: to enter a building illegally and steal things
• Mug: to attack someone in a public place and steal their money
• Steal: to take something that does not belong to you
• Rob: to steal from a person or place, often using violence or threats
• Murder: to kill someone illegally and intentionally
• Kidnap: to take someone away illegally and keep them as a prisoner

People Involved in Crimes

• Witness: someone who sees a crime happen
• Culprit: someone who is responsible for a crime
• Suspect: someone who is thought to be guilty of a crime
• Victim: someone who has been harmed by a crime

Legal Proceedings

• Arrest: to take someone into custody because they are suspected of a crime
• Judge: a person who presides over a court of law
• Statement: a formal account of events given to the police or in court
• Court: a place where legal cases are heard
• Jury: a group of people who decide whether someone is guilty or not guilty in a court case
• Trial: a formal examination of evidence in court to decide if someone is guilty of a crime
• Fine: a sum of money that you have to pay as a punishment for a crime
• Sentence: the punishment given to someone who has been found guilty of a crime
• Verdict: the decision made by a jury in a court case

Legal Actions

• Accuse someone: to say that someone has committed a crime
• Arrest someone: to take someone into custody
• Charge someone: to formally accuse someone of a crime
• Imprison someone: to put someone in prison
• Convict someone: to find someone guilty of a crime in court
• Fine someone: to make someone pay a fine
• Be guilty: to be responsible for a crime
• Get away: to escape from the police or from a crime scene

Adjectives and Prepositions

• Addicted to: unable to stop doing something harmful
• Curious about: eager to know or learn something
• Polite to: behaving in a way that shows respect for other people
• Angry about: feeling or showing strong annoyance
• Excited about: feeling or showing enthusiasm
• Ready for: prepared for something
• Aware of: having knowledge or perception of something
• Guilty of: responsible for a crime or wrongdoing
• Sensitive to: easily upset or offended
• Capable of: having the ability or quality necessary to do something
• Jealous of: feeling or showing envy of someone or their achievements
• Suitable for: right or appropriate for a particular purpose or occasion
• Certain about: having no doubt or knowing exactly that something is true
• Late for: arriving after the expected or scheduled time

Compound Adjectives

• Cold-hearted: lacking kindness or sympathy
• Hard-hitting: having a strong impact
• Public-spirited: showing concern for the welfare of the community
• Cool-headed: calm and in control of your emotions, especially in a difficult situation
• Plain-speaking: honest and direct in what you say
• Single-minded: determined to achieve something and not easily distracted

Modal Verbs

Advice

• Ought to eat: You should eat.
• Should visit: You should visit.
• Must watch: You must watch.

Obligation

• Must study: I must study more.
• Needn't wear: He doesn't need to wear.

Absence of Obligation/Necessity

• Don't have to go: We don't have to go.
• Needn't wear: I don't need to wear.

Prohibition

• Can't smoke: You can't smoke.
• Mustn't take: You mustn't take.

Past Modals

Advice

• Should have asked: I should have asked.
• Ought to have told: You ought to have told.

Obligation

• Had to save: He had to save.

Something Happened

• Needn't have rushed: You needn't have rushed.

Something Didn't Happen

• Didn't have to give: He didn't have to give.
• Didn't need to go: She didn't need to go.

Deduction and Possibility

Possibility

• Could: could
• Might: might
• May: may

Certain Deduction

• Must "be": must be

Uncertain Deduction

• Can't "be": can't be

Past Possibility

• May have: may have
• Might have: might have

Past Possibility (Didn't Happen)

• Could have: could have

Past Deduction (Action Happened)

• Must have: must have

Past Certainty (Something Impossible)

• Can't have "been": can't have been
• Couldn't have: couldn't have