Which term means touching an individual with the intention to harm?

• A. Abandon
• B. Assault
• C. Civil Law
• D. Battery

Answer: (D)

Touching someone with the intention to harm is battery. Battery involves intentional physical contact that is harmful or offensive and done without the person’s consent. The important distinction is that battery is about the actual contact, whereas assault is about the threat or attempt to cause contact that would be harmful, even if no contact occurs. The other terms don’t fit: abandoning refers to leaving someone in need of care, and civil law concerns non-criminal private rights; assault describes the act of threatening or attempting harmful contact, not the actual touching. In dental practice, battery would cover harming a patient through touching or procedures done without proper consent.