plagiarism
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of copying someone else's work or ideas and pretending you created them.
the act of appropriating the creative work or ideas of another and presenting them as one's own original contribution.
Simple“The student failed the course because the teacher found plagiarism in his final essay.”
In context“The university maintains a strict policy against plagiarism, requiring all students to sign a declaration of originality before submitting their dissertations.”
UsageUncountable when referring to the general practice or concept.
PitfallHe was accused for plagiarism. He was accused of plagiarism.The verb 'accuse' always takes the preposition 'of' when naming the crime or wrongdoing.
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
a specific piece of writing or work that has been copied from someone else.
a specific instance or example of plagiarised material within a larger work.
Simple“The editor found several plagiarisms in the manuscript that had to be removed.”
In context“The software identified three distinct plagiarisms where the author had lifted entire paragraphs from obscure nineteenth-century journals.”
UsageCountable when referring to individual cases or specific passages of copied text.
Usage plagiarism row · plagiarism in the professor's · plagiarism allegations
“The row first erupted after another academic - self-defined "race realist" Nathan Cofnas, who was sacked from his Cambridge role in 2024 - said he found numerous instances of plagiarism in the professor's work.”
From plagiary + -ism.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.