prevaricazione

abuse of power

noun preh-vah-ree-kah-TSYOH-neh Rare

Origin: From Latin praevaricatio (walking crookedly, collusion).

Also means

bullying

Usage Note

Prevaricazione has a specific legal sense in Italian: the abuse of one's position or authority to the detriment of others. In common usage it also means bullying or overbearing behaviour. It is feminine with a regular -zione plural. It should not be confused with the English 'prevarication' (deliberate vagueness), which is a false friend — Italian prevaricazione is about power, not lies.

Examples

"La prevaricazione del dirigente era inaccettabile."

Natural Translation

The manager's abuse of power was unacceptable.

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