criminal

²criminal

noun

Definition of CRIMINAL

1

: one who has committed a crime

2

: a person who has been convicted of a crime

Examples of CRIMINAL

1. <car thieves, pickpockets, burglars, and other criminals>

First Known Use of CRIMINAL

circa 1626

Related to CRIMINAL

Synonyms: crook, culprit, felon, lawbreaker, malefactor, miscreant, offender

Related Words: misdemeanant; accomplice, principal; desperado, outlaw; convict, jailbird; perp, perpetrator; evildoer, gallows bird, misdoer, misfeasor, sinner, transgressor, trespasser, villain, wrongdoer; blackhander, button man, gangster, hoodlum, hooligan, mobster, racketeer, thug; enforcer, gun, gunman, gunsel [slang], hit man, triggerman; backslider, recidivist, relapser, repeater; accused, arrestee, defendant, detainee, fish, suspect

Near Antonyms: gangbuster, lawman

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Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi