Meaning & use
a crime of passion
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Meanings
nouncountablelegal
A violent crime, usually a killing, committed suddenly because of strong feelings such as jealousy or anger.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a crime of passion' or 'crimes of passion' for more than one.
Patterns
- commit a crime of passion
- a crime of passion involving someone
- be charged with a crime of passion
The lawyer argued that the killing was a crime of passion, not a planned murder.
In many legal systems, a crime of passion can lead to a lighter sentence than premeditated murder.
Detectives believed the attack was a crime of passion after they found letters from a jealous ex-partner.
nouncountablefigurativehumorous
Any act done in a sudden rush of emotion, especially one that harms the person's own interests.
Grammar: Used figuratively and often slightly humorous; the 'crime' may be small or not a real crime at all.
Patterns
- call something a crime of passion
- treat something as a crime of passion
He quit his stable job to follow a painter to Rome — his friends called it a crime of passion.
Spending her whole salary on concert tickets was a crime of passion, she admitted later.
Word forms
| plural | crimes of passion |
|---|
Common combinations
- commit a crime of passion
- The court heard that he had committed a crime of passion after finding out about the affair.
- a crime of passion case
- The crime of passion case attracted huge media attention.
- be described as a crime of passion
- The stabbing was described as a crime of passion by the defense.
- the classic crime of passion
- A jealous partner and a sudden argument — it was the classic crime of passion.
Synonyms and how they differ
- murder
- This is the general legal word for intentionally killing someone; a crime of passion is one specific type of murder, so murder is broader and does not mention emotion.
- manslaughter
- This means killing someone without planning it, but the reason may be an accident or negligence, not passion, so it is not always the same.
Opposites
Word family
- passionate adjective
- full of strong feeling
- passion noun
- a very strong emotion or love for something
Commonly confused: a crime of passion or crime of hate?
a crime of passion vs crime of hate
Not a standard English phrase; if the crime is caused by hatred of a group, the usual term is a 'hate crime', which is a different legal idea.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'A crime of passion' means a sudden act caused by strong emotion such as jealousy, so the discovery of messages followed by losing control fits. Option 0 fails because planning for months is the opposite of sudden passion; option 1 is wrong because a planned robbery with a map is not emotional; option 3 makes the phrase mean any small wrongdoing, which is not its real meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a crime of passion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.