Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
precrime en · ADJ
Etymology
From pre- + crime.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Before a crime.
The precrime actions of the murderers in the days and hours before they killed provide clues to their mental states at the time of the murders.
1995, Robert K. Ressler, Ann Wolbert Burgess, John E. Douglas, Sexual homicide: patterns and motives, page 65:
Forms
precrime en · NOUN
Etymology
From pre- + crime.
Meanings
-
(countable) The act that is close to, or is a precursor of a crime.
Held captive by society against their own free wills, the precogs are destined to foretell disturbing precrimes. Yet these precrimes will be committed by persons who are exercising their own free wills.
2002, Ethix: The Bulletin of the Institute for Business, Technology & Ethics, Issues 22-38:
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(uncountable) The tendency in criminal justice systems to focus on crimes not yet committed.
Forms