Words / D / Law

desistance

noun/dɪˈzɪstəns/

C2CEFR level
85/100Rarity: very rare
TechnicalRegister

The process by which an offender gradually stops committing crime.

Sentencing policy increasingly aims to support desistance rather than merely to punish.

Similar: cessation

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