crime passionnel

UK/ˌkɹiːmˌpasjəˈnɛl/

noun

A crime of passion, especially a murder committed from motives of jealousy.

OriginFrench crime passionnel →
First used 19th c.
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Meanings

nouncrime passionnel (plural crimes passionnels)

plural crimes passionnels · alternative crime passionel

  1. A crime of passion, especially a murder committed from motives of jealousy.First known use 19th c.

    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
    1 more example

    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

Origin

  1. Frenchcrime passionnel
  2. Englishcrime passionnel

Borrowed from French crime passionnel.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

crime passionnel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crime%20passionnel

MLA

“crime passionnel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crime%20passionnel. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crime passionnel,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crime%20passionnel.

Source: crime passionnel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.