crime n
1. (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes" [syn: law-breaking]
2. an evil act not necessarily punishable by law; "crimes of the heart"

Crime \Crime\ (kr[imac]m), n.[F. crime, fr. L. crimen judicial decision, that which is subjected to such a decision, charge, fault, crime, fr. the root of cernere to decide judicially. See Certain.]
1. Any violation of law, either divine or human; an omission of a duty commanded, or the commission of an act forbidden by law.
2. Gross violation of human law, in distinction from a misdemeanor or trespass, or other slight offense. Hence, also, any aggravated offense against morality or the public welfare; any outrage or great wrong. ``To part error from crime.'' --Tennyson. Note: Crimes, in the English common law, are grave offenses which were originally capitally punished (murder, rape, robbery, arson, burglary, and larceny), as distinguished from misdemeanors, which are offenses of a lighter grade. See Misdemeanors.
3. Any great wickedness or sin; iniquity. No crime was thine, if 'tis no crime to love. --Pope.
4. That which occasion crime. [Obs.] The tree of life, the crime of our first father's fall. --Spenser. Capital crime, a crime punishable with death. Syn: Sin; vice; iniquity; wrong. Usage: Crime, Sin,Vice. Sin is the generic term, embracing wickedness of every kind, but specifically denoting an offense as committed against God. Crime is strictly a violation of law either human or divine; but in present usage the term is commonly applied to actions contrary to the laws of the State. Vice is more distinctively that which springs from the inordinate indulgence of the natural appetites, which are in themselves innocent. Thus intemperance, unchastity, duplicity, etc., are vices; while murder, forgery, etc., which spring from the indulgence of selfish passions, are crimes.

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Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority (via mechanisms such as legal systems) can ultimately prescribe a conviction. Individual human societies may each define crime and crimes differently, in different localities (state, local, international), at different time stages of the so-called "crime" (planning, disclosure, supposedly intended, supposedly prepared, incompleted, completed or futuristically proclaimed after the "crime".

Most crimes are not reported, not recorded, not followed through, or not able to be proved.

While every crime violates the law, not every violation of the law counts as a crime; for example: breaches of contract and of other civil law may rank as "offences" or as "infractions". Modern societies generally regard crimes as offences against the public or the state, as distinguished from torts (offences against private parties that can give rise to a civil cause of action).

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