prosecution

/ˌpɹɑ.sɪˈkju.ʃən/

UK: /ˌpɹɒs.ɪˈkjuː.ʃən/

pɹɑ · SꞮKJU · ʃən (3 syllables)

English Noun Top 5,340
American (Lessac) (medium)
Female 1.0s
American (Amy) (medium)
Female 1.3s
American (Ryan) (medium)
Male 0.8s
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Definition

The act of prosecuting a scheme or endeavor.

Etymology

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.

Example Sentences

  • "The prosecution of the war fell to Winston Churchill."
  • "Many apartheid perpetrators escaped prosecution for their persecution of black Africans and political dissidents."
  • "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."
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