identity theft
noun
Simple meaning
The co-option of another person's personal information without that person's knowledge and the fraudulent use of such knowledge.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
eyedehntuhteetheftSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
aɪˈdɛntətiθɛft
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
lawcriminology
The co-option of another person's personal information (e.g., name, Social Security number, credit card number, passport) without that person's knowledge and the fraudulent use of such knowledge
lawcriminology
The deliberate assumption of another person's identity, usually to gain access to that person's finances or to frame a person for a crime.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The co-option of another person's personal information (e.g., name, Social Security number, credit card number, passport) without that person's knowledge and the fraudulent use of such knowledge
Used this way, identity theft is a specialist word with a clearly unfavourable pull. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.