Words / A / Law

actus reus

noun/ˌæktəs ˈreɪəs/

C2CEFR level
90/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

The physical conduct or omission that forms the objective element of a crime.

She had the motive, sure, but the file shows no actus reus tying her to the shooting.

Similar: guilty act

Topic: Criminal law in Legal English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More law words: Criminal law