detriment

Definition

Something that causes harm, damage, or disadvantage—typically used in legal contexts to describe injury or loss suffered by a party. The opposite of benefit, and often the thing you're suing to recover from.

Example Usage

The breach of contract caused significant detriment to the business, resulting in lost revenue and reputation damage.

Source: Merriam-Webster via Free Dictionary API

Related Terms

Intermediate

remit

A fancy legal word for "send" that makes lawyers feel sophisticated when they talk about transmitting money or referring cases to lower courts. In business contexts, it means to pay what you owe; in legal contexts, it means a higher court is sending your case back down for a do-over. Also refers to someone's scope of responsibility, because apparently one word needed to mean three different things to keep everyone confused.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

brief

A written legal argument submitted to a court outlining the facts, issues, and legal precedents supporting your case. Despite the name, these documents are rarely brief—lawyers get paid by the hour, after all. A well-crafted brief can win cases before you even step into the courtroom; a terrible one can torpedo your case before the judge finishes their morning coffee.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

reparation

Payment or compensation for past wrongs, usually involving significant amounts of money, effort, or public apologies. The historical and legal concept of making amends, scaled up from personal apologies to international treaties. Can range from war reparations between nations to your ex trying to make up for that thing they did in 2019.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

tortfeasor

One who commits a tort, or civil wrong. It sounds like a medieval festival performer but is actually just someone who negligently or intentionally caused harm to another person or property.

⚖️ Legal

Advanced

committal

The legal system's formal commitment ceremony where a judge decides someone should be committed to custody, trial, or a mental health facility—significantly less fun than other types of commitments. This procedural step represents the point where the justice system officially says "we're keeping you" or "this is going to trial." It's commitment with consequences, basically the opposite of commitment issues.

⚖️ Legal

Intermediate

Breach

When someone breaks a contract and everyone pretends to be shocked, even though the contract was 200 pages long and written in a font size that would make an ant squint. The legal equivalent of saying "you promised!"

⚖️ Legal

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