Wrongful
adjective
Done in an unfair or illegal way.
He was convicted for wrongful imprisonment.
Often appears as...
- wrongful death
- wrongful dismissal
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Unlawfully or unjustly taking someone else's rights.
They sued the company for wrongful termination.
Often appears as...
- wrongful possession
- wrongful prosecution
Usage tips
Formal, Disapproving
Legal
adjective
Done in an unfair or illegal way.
He was convicted for wrongful imprisonment.
Often appears as...
- wrongful death
- wrongful dismissal
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Unlawfully or unjustly taking someone else's rights.
They sued the company for wrongful termination.
Often appears as...
- wrongful possession
- wrongful prosecution
Usage tips
Formal, Disapproving
Legal
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Implications
Using 'wrongful' suggests a strong disapproval of the action described.
Describing an arrest as 'wrongful' implies it was not deserved.
Pro Tip 2/3Criminal Connotation
'Wrongful' often implies an action goes against the law or justice.
A 'wrongful conviction' suggests an innocent person was found guilty.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Weight
Listen for 'wrongful' to understand the speaker's emotional stance on an event.
After the 'wrongful death' verdict, the family felt vindicated.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Implications
Using 'wrongful' suggests a strong disapproval of the action described.
Describing an arrest as 'wrongful' implies it was not deserved.
Pro Tip 2/3Criminal Connotation
'Wrongful' often implies an action goes against the law or justice.
A 'wrongful conviction' suggests an innocent person was found guilty.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Weight
Listen for 'wrongful' to understand the speaker's emotional stance on an event.
After the 'wrongful death' verdict, the family felt vindicated.
Pro Tip 1/3Negative Implications
Using 'wrongful' suggests a strong disapproval of the action described.
Describing an arrest as 'wrongful' implies it was not deserved.
Pro Tip 2/3Criminal Connotation
'Wrongful' often implies an action goes against the law or justice.
A 'wrongful conviction' suggests an innocent person was found guilty.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Weight
Listen for 'wrongful' to understand the speaker's emotional stance on an event.
After the 'wrongful death' verdict, the family felt vindicated.
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Video examples
The Battle for the Soul...
police released williams later that night and eventually dropped the charges against him but that came after thousands of dollars in legal fees missing time at work and the humiliation of being arrested in front of his family and neighbors the aclu says robert williams was the first known wrongful arrest in the
Video examples
Can you solve the false...
false positives can have real negative consequences. False positives in medical testing are preferable to false negatives, but they can still lead to stress or unnecessary treatment. And false positives in mass surveillance can cause innocent people to be wrongfully arrested, jailed, or worse.
Video examples
How I help free innocent...
So I said yes. A conviction review unit is essentially a unit in a prosecutor's office where prosecutors look at their past cases to determine whether or not they made mistakes. Over the course of the first year, we found about 13 wrongful convictions,
Video examples
Alice Goffman: How we're...
It turns out that the crime rate goes up and down irrespective of how many young people we send to prison. We tend to think about justice in a pretty narrow good and bad, innocent and guilty. Injustice is about being wrongfully convicted.
Video examples
Taryn Simon photographs...
I investigate photography's ability to blur truth and fiction, and its influence on memory, which can lead to severe, even lethal consequences. For the men in these photographs, the primary cause of their wrongful conviction
Video examples
Scott Fraser: The...
First of all, we have all the statistical analyses from the Innocence Project work, where we know that we have, what, 250, 280 documented cases now where people have been wrongfully convicted and subsequently exonerated,
Video examples
Why teens confess to...
In one study of exonerations, for example, only eight percent of adults had falsely confessed, but 42 percent of juveniles had done so. Of course, if we're just looking at wrongful convictions and exonerations,
Video examples
Community-powered...
Father of two, family man, truck driver and someone who was wrongfully charged with a gang-related murder he was totally innocent of, but was facing a life sentence. Ramon's family came to those meetings
Video examples
Shweta Narayan: It's...
When I say "do no harm," I do not mean that we should not explore bold and courageous solutions. We desperately need to be innovative in the face of crisis. But there is a lot of bad, wrongful,
Video examples
How forgiveness can...
receives a lesser sentence than other people who commit wrongful killings. But because I'm a law professor, I also worried about the law itself.
Video examples
The Battle for the Soul...
police released williams later that night and eventually dropped the charges against him but that came after thousands of dollars in legal fees missing time at work and the humiliation of being arrested in front of his family and neighbors the aclu says robert williams was the first known wrongful arrest in the
Video examples
Can you solve the false...
false positives can have real negative consequences. False positives in medical testing are preferable to false negatives, but they can still lead to stress or unnecessary treatment. And false positives in mass surveillance can cause innocent people to be wrongfully arrested, jailed, or worse.
Video examples
How I help free innocent...
So I said yes. A conviction review unit is essentially a unit in a prosecutor's office where prosecutors look at their past cases to determine whether or not they made mistakes. Over the course of the first year, we found about 13 wrongful convictions,
Video examples
Alice Goffman: How we're...
It turns out that the crime rate goes up and down irrespective of how many young people we send to prison. We tend to think about justice in a pretty narrow good and bad, innocent and guilty. Injustice is about being wrongfully convicted.
Video examples
Taryn Simon photographs...
I investigate photography's ability to blur truth and fiction, and its influence on memory, which can lead to severe, even lethal consequences. For the men in these photographs, the primary cause of their wrongful conviction
Video examples
Scott Fraser: The...
First of all, we have all the statistical analyses from the Innocence Project work, where we know that we have, what, 250, 280 documented cases now where people have been wrongfully convicted and subsequently exonerated,
Video examples
Why teens confess to...
In one study of exonerations, for example, only eight percent of adults had falsely confessed, but 42 percent of juveniles had done so. Of course, if we're just looking at wrongful convictions and exonerations,
Video examples
Community-powered...
Father of two, family man, truck driver and someone who was wrongfully charged with a gang-related murder he was totally innocent of, but was facing a life sentence. Ramon's family came to those meetings
Video examples
Shweta Narayan: It's...
When I say "do no harm," I do not mean that we should not explore bold and courageous solutions. We desperately need to be innovative in the face of crisis. But there is a lot of bad, wrongful,
Video examples
How forgiveness can...
receives a lesser sentence than other people who commit wrongful killings. But because I'm a law professor, I also worried about the law itself.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
David Baldacci
American Novelist
As a lawyer, as a private citizen, you see a lot of injustice. You see a lot of people who should have been punished and are not, and people who were punished wrongfully are not vindicated. Fiction is sort of a way to set the record straight, and let people at least believe that justice can be achieved and the right outcomes can occur.
Quote examples
Brian Banks
American Athlete
You have to realize that myself and others that have been wrongfully convicted of crimes, we've dealt with the situation. You realize that you're not going to survive in prison or progress as a human being if you allow yourself to continue to hold on to this negative energy.
Quote examples
Peter Benenson
British Lawyer
Torture is banned but in two-thirds of the world's countries it is still being committed in secret. Too many governments still allow wrongful imprisonment, murder or 'disappearance' to be carried out by their officials with impunity.
Quote examples
Amy J. Berg
American Director
I just think it's so outrageous that fifteen years is the kind of minimum amount of time that any wrongfully convicted person spends in prison.
Quote examples
Amanda Knox
American Educator
All wrongfully convicted people are portrayed as monsters. But there's a special kind of monster that is a woman.
Quote examples
Glenn Greenwald
American Journalist
The purpose of whistleblowing is to expose secret and wrongful acts by those in power in order to enable reform.
Quote examples
Nnamdi Asomugha
Nigerian Actor
I think any time you're able to humanize the plight of the wrongfully incarcerated, then you're doing your job.
Quote examples
Juan Guaido
Venezuelan Politician
We know that Maduro's armies are riddled with persecution, torture, threats, and wrongful arrests.
Quote examples
Jared Polis
American Politician
Someone who is wrongfully accused needs to do their best to put it behind them and move on.
Quote examples
Jose Marti
Cuban Activist
He who uses the office he owes to the voters wrongfully and against them is a thief.
Quote examples
David Baldacci
American Novelist
As a lawyer, as a private citizen, you see a lot of injustice. You see a lot of people who should have been punished and are not, and people who were punished wrongfully are not vindicated. Fiction is sort of a way to set the record straight, and let people at least believe that justice can be achieved and the right outcomes can occur.
Quote examples
Brian Banks
American Athlete
You have to realize that myself and others that have been wrongfully convicted of crimes, we've dealt with the situation. You realize that you're not going to survive in prison or progress as a human being if you allow yourself to continue to hold on to this negative energy.
Quote examples
Peter Benenson
British Lawyer
Torture is banned but in two-thirds of the world's countries it is still being committed in secret. Too many governments still allow wrongful imprisonment, murder or 'disappearance' to be carried out by their officials with impunity.
Quote examples
Amy J. Berg
American Director
I just think it's so outrageous that fifteen years is the kind of minimum amount of time that any wrongfully convicted person spends in prison.
Quote examples
Amanda Knox
American Educator
All wrongfully convicted people are portrayed as monsters. But there's a special kind of monster that is a woman.
Quote examples
Glenn Greenwald
American Journalist
The purpose of whistleblowing is to expose secret and wrongful acts by those in power in order to enable reform.
Quote examples
Nnamdi Asomugha
Nigerian Actor
I think any time you're able to humanize the plight of the wrongfully incarcerated, then you're doing your job.
Quote examples
Juan Guaido
Venezuelan Politician
We know that Maduro's armies are riddled with persecution, torture, threats, and wrongful arrests.
Quote examples
Jared Polis
American Politician
Someone who is wrongfully accused needs to do their best to put it behind them and move on.
Quote examples
Jose Marti
Cuban Activist
He who uses the office he owes to the voters wrongfully and against them is a thief.
Example 1 of 10
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