positive fraud
1
9.1
- noun
- /ˈpɒzɪtɪv frɔːd/
- Jargon
- The company was found liable for positive fraud after intentionally hiding crucial information from investors.
Examples
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Under the law, positive fraud requires proof that the defendant acted with the intent to deceive.
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Making a false statement with the purpose of misleading a buyer constitutes positive fraud.
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The lawyer argued that the case involved positive fraud.
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Many people are unaware of the implications of positive fraud.
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Making a false statement with the purpose of misleading a buyer constitutes positive fraud.
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The company was found liable for positive fraud after intentionally hiding crucial information from investors.
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Under the law, positive fraud requires proof that the defendant acted with the intent to deceive.
Synonyms
607
4.0
Deceiving someone to get money or an unfair advantage
1
7.2
Dishonest acts that break a person’s duty or trust under the law
1
8.7
An act of hiding or lying about facts to harm someone financially
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase combines 'positive' (here with a specialized/legal sense of 'actual/express') and 'fraud' (deceptive act), so a partial inferencing is possible — learners might guess it means a clear or definite kind of fraud. However, the precise legal sense (deliberate concealment/intent to injure and its distinction from other forms like constructive fraud) is technical and not predictable from basic word knowledge, so a B1 learner would likely not grasp the full meaning without exposure.
Etymology
Positive fraud comes from the idea that positive here means something done and fraud means a lie or trick. Imagine someone who gives a fake paper or tells a lie on purpose — that active, doing thing is the picture behind the name, so positive fraud means 'to trick someone on purpose'.