C2 English Nouns: Crime, Morality & Knowledge
This part of our C2 list delves into the abstract frameworks that govern human behaviour and intellectual pursuit. It provides the vocabulary for discussing justice, ethics, and the nature of understanding, which are fundamental to philosophy, sociology, and higher education.
The collection is organised into three key areas: nouns for Crime, Wrongdoing & Punishment, such as culprit and malfeasance; terms for Morality, Virtue & Ethics, including concepts like depravity and rectitude; and vocabulary for Knowledge, Learning & Wisdom, with words like erudition and pedagogy.
Jump to a section:
- People, Roles & Occupations
- Personal Qualities & Character Traits
- Emotions & Mental States
- Conflict, Violence & Warfare
- Governance, Law & Authority
- Crime, Wrongdoing & Punishment
- Morality, Virtue & Ethics
- Knowledge, Learning & Wisdom
- Communication & Expression
- Religion, Spirituality & Belief
- Abstract Concepts & Phenomena
- Philosophy, Thought & Principles
- Natural World & Scientific Processes
- Time, Change & Stages
- Physical Structures, Places & Objects
- Groups & Social Organisation
- Events, Situations & Circumstances
- Hostility, Discord & Opposition
- Chaos, Turmoil & Disruption
- Calm, Rest & Stability
- Hardship, Adversity & Suffering
- Abundance, Scarcity & Resources
- Reputation, Status & Standing
- Tendency, Inclination & Preference
- Compliance, Procedure & Standards
- Ideologies & Movements
- Appearance, Surface & Perception
- Scale, Degree & Extent
Crime, Wrongdoing & Punishment
| Word | Example Sentence | IPA (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| artifice | Her seemingly genuine tears were merely a clever artifice to gain sympathy. | /ˈɑːtɪfɪs/ |
| aspersion | I will not stand by and listen to you cast aspersions on my friend's character.
Word Partners: cast aspersions on
|
/əˈspɜːʃn/ |
| blasphemy | He was charged with blasphemy for insulting the sacred texts. | /ˈblæsfəmi/ |
| bounty | The authorities placed a bounty on the fugitive's head.
Word Partners: place a bounty on
|
/ˈbaʊnti/ |
| censure | The minister faced public censure for his handling of the crisis.
Word Partners: public censure, a vote of censure
|
/ˈsenʃə(r)/ |
| chicanery | The contract was full of legal chicanery designed to mislead investors. | /ʃɪˈkeɪnəri/ |
| coercion | The confession was obtained through coercion and was ruled inadmissible. | /kəʊˈɜːʃn/ |
| collusion | There was evidence of collusion between the two companies to fix prices. | /kəˈluːʒn/ |
| complicity | He denied any complicity in the fraud. | /kəmˈplɪsəti/ |
| defamation | He sued the newspaper for defamation of character.
Word Partners: defamation of character
|
/ˌdefəˈmeɪʃn/ |
| duplicity | I was shocked by his duplicity when I discovered he was leading a double life. | /djuːˈplɪsəti/ |
| fabrication | The story was a complete fabrication with no basis in fact. | /ˌfæbrɪˈkeɪʃn/ |
| folly | It would be sheer folly to ignore the expert advice. | /ˈfɒli/ |
| impunity | The regime committed atrocities with impunity for decades.
Word Partners: with impunity
|
/ɪmˈpjuːnəti/ |
| indiscretion | His political career was ruined by a youthful indiscretion. | /ˌɪndɪˈskreʃn/ |
| infraction | It was a minor infraction of the rules, but he was punished nonetheless. | /ɪnˈfrækʃn/ |
| inhumanity | The documentary exposed the shocking inhumanity of the prison system. | /ˌɪnhjuːˈmænəti/ |
| larceny | He was charged with grand larceny for stealing the valuable artwork. | /ˈlɑːsəni/ |
| machination | He was a victim of his rivals' political machinations. | /ˌmækɪˈneɪʃn/ |
| malfeasance | The CEO was investigated for corporate malfeasance.
Word Partners: corporate malfeasance
|
/mælˈfiːzns/ |
| martyrdom | Her death was seen as an act of political martyrdom. | /ˈmɑːtədəm/ |
| masquerade | Their politeness was just a masquerade to hide their true intentions. | /ˌmæskəˈreɪd/ |
| negligence | The accident was caused by the driver's criminal negligence. | /ˈneɡlɪdʒəns/ |
| obscenity | The film was banned for its graphic obscenity. | /əbˈsenəti/ |
| paraphernalia | The police seized a large quantity of drug paraphernalia during the raid.
Word Partners: drug paraphernalia
|
/ˌpærəfəˈneɪliə/ |
| perjury | The witness was charged with perjury for lying under oath. | /ˈpɜːdʒəri/ |
| piracy | The company is taking steps to combat software piracy. | /ˈpaɪrəsi/ |
| plagiarism | The student was accused of plagiarism for copying directly from a website. | /ˈpleɪdʒərɪzəm/ |
| profanity | The broadcast was censored due to the excessive profanity. | /prəˈfænəti/ |
| purge | The new leader began a brutal purge of his political opponents. | /pɜːdʒ/ |
| ransom | The kidnappers demanded a huge ransom for the child's safe return. | /ˈrænsəm/ |
| recidivism | The government is trying to reduce the high rate of recidivism among former prisoners. | /rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzəm/ |
| redress | The victims are seeking legal redress for the harm they suffered. | /rɪˈdres/ |
| repression | The authoritarian regime was known for its brutal political repression.
Word Partners: political repression
|
/rɪˈpreʃn/ |
| reprieve | The governor granted the prisoner a last-minute reprieve.
Word Partners: last-minute reprieve
|
/rɪˈpriːv/ |
| reprimand | She received a severe reprimand for breaching protocol.
Word Partners: severe/formal reprimand
|
/ˈreprɪmɑːnd/ |
| repudiation | His statement was a complete repudiation of everything the party stood for. | /rɪˌpjuːdiˈeɪʃn/ |
| ruse | The emergency call was just a ruse to distract the guards. | /ruːz/ |
| sacrilege | It would be sacrilege to demolish such a beautiful historic building. | /ˈsækrəlɪdʒ/ |
| skullduggery | The election was marred by accusations of political skullduggery. | /skʌlˈdʌɡəri/ |
| slander | He sued the newspaper for what he claimed was an act of slander.
Word Partners: an act of slander
|
/ˈslɑːndə(r)/ |
| subterfuge | He used subterfuge to gain access to the classified documents. | /ˈsʌbtəfjuːdʒ/ |
| swindle | The elaborate financial swindle cheated investors out of millions. | /ˈswɪndl/ |
| transgression | He sought forgiveness for his past transgressions. | /trænzˈɡreʃn/ |
| treachery | His act of treachery was a betrayal of his country. | /ˈtretʃəri/ |
| treason | He was charged with treason for betraying state secrets to the enemy. | /ˈtriːzn/ |
| trickery | He used clever trickery to deceive his opponents. | /ˈtrɪkəri/ |
| vandalism | The bus shelter was destroyed in an act of mindless vandalism. | /ˈvændəlɪzəm/ |
| vilification | She was subjected to a campaign of public vilification in the press. | /ˌvɪlɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/ |
| villainy | The novel's villainy was breathtaking in its scope and cruelty. | /ˈvɪləni/ |
| whitewash | The official report was dismissed by critics as a complete whitewash. | /ˈwaɪtwɒʃ/ |
Morality, Virtue & Ethics
| Word | Example Sentence | IPA (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| benevolence | The charity relies on the benevolence of its donors. | /bəˈnevələns/ |
| bigotry | The organisation was accused of promoting racial bigotry. | /ˈbɪɡətri/ |
| consecration | The consecration of the new bishop will take place next Sunday. | /ˌkɒnsɪˈkreɪʃn/ |
| cupidity | The politician's cupidity led to his eventual downfall. | /kjuːˈpɪdəti/ |
| decadence | The film depicted the decadence of the late Roman Empire. | /ˈdekədəns/ |
| decorum | The children were expected to behave with proper decorum at the formal event. | /dɪˈkɔːrəm/ |
| depravity | The documentary exposed the moral depravity of the regime. | /dɪˈprævəti/ |
| esteem | She was held in high esteem by her colleagues.
Word Partners: hold in high esteem
|
/ɪˈstiːm/ |
| homage | The concert was held in homage to the late composer.
Word Partners: pay homage to, in homage to
|
/ˈhɒmɪdʒ/ |
| promiscuity | The article discussed the perceived moral dangers of promiscuity. | /ˌprɒmɪˈskjuːəti/ |
| propriety | Her behaviour offended the town's strict sense of propriety. | /prəˈpraɪəti/ |
| rapacity | The company was criticised for its corporate rapacity and greed. | /rəˈpæsəti/ |
| righteousness | He was full of self-righteousness and convinced of his own moral superiority. | /ˈraɪtʃəsnəs/ |
| sainthood | After her death, there were calls for her to be granted sainthood. | /ˈseɪnthʊd/ |
| sanctity | The case brought into question the sanctity of marriage.
Word Partners: sanctity of life/marriage
|
/ˈsæŋktəti/ |
| scruple | He is a man with no moral scruples. | /ˈskruːpl/ |
| turpitude | The judge condemned the moral turpitude of the crime.
Word Partners: moral turpitude
|
/ˈtɜːpɪtjuːd/ |
| vulgarity | The play was criticised for its excessive vulgarity. | /vʌlˈɡærəti/ |
| wantonness | The destruction of the ancient library was an act of cultural wantonness. | /ˈwɒntənnəs/ |
Knowledge, Learning & Wisdom
| Word | Example Sentence | IPA (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| cartography | His lifelong passion was the study of medieval cartography. | /kɑːˈtɒɡrəfi/ |
| chronology | The historian established a clear chronology of the events leading up to the war. | /krəˈnɒlədʒi/ |
| conjecture | At this point, the theory is based on pure conjecture.
Word Partners: pure conjecture
|
/kənˈdʒektʃə(r)/ |
| discernment | She showed great discernment in her choice of advisers. | /dɪˈsɜːnmənt/ |
| dissertation | She wrote her dissertation on medieval literature.
Word Partners: write a dissertation
|
/ˌdɪsəˈteɪʃn/ |
| edification | He reads classical literature for his own personal edification. | /ˌedɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/ |
| erudition | His erudition on the subject was impressive. | /ˌeruˈdɪʃn/ |
| etymology | The professor gave a fascinating lecture on the etymology of common English words. | /ˌetɪˈmɒlədʒi/ |
| genealogy | She spent years tracing her family's genealogy back to the 18th century. | /ˌdʒiːniˈælədʒi/ |
| glossary | The textbook includes a helpful glossary of technical terms. | /ˈɡlɒsəri/ |
| induction | His induction into the hall of fame was a long-overdue honour. | /ɪnˈdʌkʃn/ |
| inkling | I had no inkling that anything was wrong. | /ˈɪŋklɪŋ/ |
| intelligentsia | The country's liberal intelligentsia were vocal critics of the regime. | /ɪnˌtelɪˈdʒentsiə/ |
| introspection | A quiet period of introspection can be very helpful. | /ˌɪntrəˈspekʃn/ |
| ken | The complexities of quantum physics are far beyond my ken.
Word Partners: beyond one's ken
|
/ken/ |
| lexicon | The term has now entered the popular lexicon. | /ˈleksɪkən/ |
| lore | According to local lore, the forest is enchanted. | /lɔː(r)/ |
| methodology | The researcher was criticised for her flawed methodology. | /ˌmeθəˈdɒlədʒi/ |
| nomenclature | The scientific nomenclature for the species was complex and confusing. | /nəˈmeŋklətʃə(r)/ |
| nuance | The translation failed to capture the subtle nuances of the original text.
Word Partners: subtle nuance
|
/ˈnjuːɑːns/ |
| pedagogy | The course examines different theories of pedagogy in higher education. | /ˈpedəɡɒdʒi/ |
| presumption | His comments were based on the presumption that everyone agreed with him. | /prɪˈzʌmpʃn/ |
| prognosis | The doctor gave a cautiously optimistic prognosis for his recovery. | /prɒɡˈnəʊsɪs/ |
| provenance | The painting's exact provenance is unknown. | /ˈprɒvənəns/ |
| proverb | As the old proverb goes, "a stitch in time saves nine." | /ˈprɒvɜːb/ |
| rationale | The report sets out the rationale for the proposed changes. | /ˌræʃəˈnɑːl/ |
| rudiment | He taught me the rudiments of car maintenance. | /ˈruːdɪmənts/ |
| semantics | We shouldn't get bogged down in semantics when the main issue is clear. | /sɪˈmæntɪks/ |
| sophistry | His argument was dismissed as mere sophistry. | /ˈsɒfɪstri/ |
| substantiation | The journalist's claims lacked any credible substantiation. | /səbˌstænʃiˈeɪʃn/ |
| syllabus | The syllabus for the course is available online. | /ˈsɪləbəs/ |
| thesaurus | If you can't think of a synonym, use a thesaurus. | /θɪˈsɔːrəs/ |
| traditionalism | The small community was known for its deep-seated traditionalism. | /trəˈdɪʃənəlɪzəm/ |
| treatise | He wrote a lengthy treatise on moral philosophy. | /ˈtriːtɪz/ |
| tutelage | She studied music under the tutelage of a famous composer.
Word Partners: under the tutelage of
|
/ˈtjuːtəlɪdʒ/ |
| zoology | She is studying for a degree in zoology at the university. | /zuˈɒlədʒi/ |
