mis‧de‧mea‧nour British English, misdemeanor American English /ˌmɪsdɪˈmiːnə $ -ər/ noun [countable]

1. formal a bad or unacceptable action that is not very serious:
Alfred beat his children for even the smallest misdemeanour.

2. law a crime that is not very serious ⇒ felony

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

crime noun [uncountable and countable] an illegal action or activity, or these actions in general:
The police need the public’s help to solve crimes.
Crime is on the increase.
It was a horrific crime.
offence British English, offense American English noun [countable] a crime, especially one that has a particular description and name in law:
It is an offence to drive while using a mobile phone.
a minor offence (=one that is not serious)
a serious offence
a parking offence
misdemeanor noun [countable] American English law a crime that is not very serious:
They pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and were fined.
felony noun [uncountable and countable] especially American English law a serious crime:
Fewer than 25 percent of the people arrested on felony charges are convicted.
He committed a series of violent felonies.
robbery noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of stealing from a bank, shop etc:
£100,000 was stolen in the robbery.
The gang carried out a string of daring robberies.
burglary noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of breaking into someone’s home in order to steal things:
There have been several burglaries in our area.
theft noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of stealing something:
Car theft is a big problem.
thefts of credit cards
shoplifting noun [uncountable] the crime of taking things from shops without paying for them:
They get money for drugs from shoplifting.
fraud noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of getting money from people by tricking them:
He’s been charged with tax fraud.
credit card fraud
larceny noun [uncountable] especially American English law the crime of stealing something:
He was found guilty of larceny.
phishing noun [uncountable] the activity of tricking people into giving their personal details, bank numbers etc on the Internet, in order to steal money from them:
One in four computer users reports that they have been hit by phishing attempts.
assault noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of physically attacking someone:
He was arrested for an assault on a policeman.
mugging noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of attacking and robbing someone in a public place:
Muggings usually happen at night.
murder noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of deliberately killing someone:
He is accused of the murder of five women.
homicide noun [uncountable and countable] especially American English law murder:
Homicide rates are rising fastest amongst 15 to19-year-olds.
rape noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of forcing someone to have sex:
In most cases of rape, the victim knows her attacker.
arson noun [uncountable] the crime of deliberately setting fire to a building:
The school was completely destroyed in an arson attack.
vandalism noun [uncountable] the crime of deliberately damaging things, especially public property:
He often got into fights and committed acts of vandalism.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲