Definitions for riot act
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Random House Webster's College Dictionary
Ri′ot Act`(n.)
an English statute of 1715 making it a felony for an assembly of 12 or more persons to refuse to disperse when ordered by an authority.
Category: Western History
Idioms for Riot Act:
read someone the riot act, to reprove or warn someone sharply.
Category: Idiom
Princeton's WordNet
riot act(noun)
a vigorous reprimand
"I read him the riot act"
Riot Act(noun)
a former English law requiring mobs to disperse after a magistrate reads the law to them
Wiktionary
Riot Act(ProperNoun)
An English law that stated that if 12 or more people assembled unlawfully in a public place they must disperse when read a proclamation
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