Meaning & use
malicious prosecution
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountablelegallaw
The wrongful starting of a criminal or civil case against someone without good reason and with an improper motive.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun: 'a claim for malicious prosecution'. It does not take 'a' or a plural in this legal sense.
Patterns
- a claim for malicious prosecution
- an action for malicious prosecution
- sue someone for malicious prosecution
After the charges were dropped, he sued the police for malicious prosecution.
The court found that the company had engaged in malicious prosecution by filing charges it knew were false.
She hired a lawyer to bring a claim of malicious prosecution against her former employer.
noununcountablelegallaw
The act of repeatedly bringing legal proceedings against someone out of spite or to cause them harm.
Grammar: This broader use is less common and often appears in general descriptions of harassment through the courts.
Patterns
- a campaign of malicious prosecution
- allegations of malicious prosecution
The family described years of malicious prosecution that left them bankrupt.
The report accused the authorities of using the courts for malicious prosecution.
Common combinations
- claim for malicious prosecution
- He filed a claim for malicious prosecution after the case collapsed.
- sue for malicious prosecution
- You can sue for malicious prosecution if the charges were clearly baseless.
- allegations of malicious prosecution
- The newspaper published allegations of malicious prosecution by local officials.
- malicious prosecution lawsuit
- The malicious prosecution lawsuit is still before the court.
Synonyms and how they differ
- false accusation
- A general term for saying someone did something wrong when they did not; it does not require a court case, while malicious prosecution does.
- vexatious litigation
- Similar in meaning but usually refers to a pattern of many pointless lawsuits rather than one wrongful prosecution.
Word family
- maliciously adverb
- In a way that is intended to harm someone.
- malice noun
- The desire to harm someone; a key element in proving malicious prosecution.
Commonly confused: malicious prosecution or prosecution?
malicious prosecution vs prosecution
Prosecution is simply the process of charging and trying someone in court; malicious prosecution adds the idea that the case was brought wrongly and with bad intent.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'malicious prosecution' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Malicious prosecution' refers to wrongly bringing a legal case against someone, so suing after a false accusation fits. Option A confuses it with the crime he committed; option B describes a civil complaint about noise, not a wrongful prosecution; option D treats it as a criminal offense with a prison sentence, which is not how the term is normally used.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “malicious prosecution”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.