# battered person syndrome

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A legal defense according to which a murderer had no choice but to kill their violent partner in response to cumulative abuse rather than a single provocation.

## Etymology
A more recent, gender-neutral formulation based on battered woman syndrome.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/battered-person-syndrome