Dictionary

crime passionnel en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌkɹiːmˌpasjəˈnɛl/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from French crime passionnel.

Meanings

1. A crime of passion, especially a murder committed from motives of jealousy.
   • If, as she hinted, Dr Serrou had spent the night with Bachelet, the inexplicable brainstorm might have stemmed from a crime passionel. 2000, JG Ballard, Super-Cannes, Fourth Estate, published 2011, page 50:
   • Stalking, a kind of crime passionnel, confuses our sympathies: how do you feel about someone who loves you but wants to ‘ruin’ you; who massages your ego as she damages your career [...]? 2013, Nick Richardson, “Internet-Enabled”, in London Review of Books, volume 35, number 8:

Forms