Definition of Felony
(noun) A crime that is considered quite serious, that is typically punishable by long-term imprisonment or death.
Examples of Felony
- arson
- murder
Felony Pronunciation
Syllabification: fel·o·ny
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /fEl-uh-nee/
- British English – /fE-luh-nee/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈfɛləni/
- British English – /ˈfɛləni/
Usage Notes
- Plural: felonies
- Also called high crime.
- A (noun) felon is an individual that commits and is convicted of a felony for their (verb) felonious actions.
Related Video
Additional Information
- Crime and Law Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “felony” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Briggs, Steven M., and Joan Friedman. 2009. Criminology For Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Siegel, Larry J., and Clemens Bartollas. 2011. Corrections Today. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Siegel, Larry J., and John L. Worrall. 2012. Introduction to Criminal Justice. 13th ed. Belmont: CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Siegel, Larry J., and John L. Worrall. 2013. Essentials of Criminal Justice. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).
Tischler, Henry L. 2011. Introduction to Sociology. 10th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Felony
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “felony.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved May 29, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/felony/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
felony. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/felony/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “felony.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed May 29, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/felony/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“felony.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 29 May. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/felony/>.