felon

1 of 2

noun

fel·​on ˈfe-lən 

1

: one who has committed a felony

2

archaic : villain

3

: a painful abscess of the deep tissues of the palmar surface of the fingertip that is typically caused by bacterial infection (as with a staphylococcus) and is marked by swelling and pain compare whitlow sense 1

felon

2 of 2

adjective

1

archaic

a

: cruel

b

: evil

2

archaic : wild

Examples of felon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Gil Garcetti says at a news conference that anyone helping Simpson flee will be prosecuted as a felon. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024

Not long ago, Tyson dined at Mar-a-Lago with his old friend Donald, a ringside fixture turned President and potential felon. —Ben McGrath, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024

He was charged with first-degree murder, four counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, and two counts of possession of electronic weapons. —Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2024

Salinas is a registered felon following an armed robbery conviction in 2018, and thus charged with an additional count of misconduct involving weapons. —The Arizona Republic, 1 Apr. 2024

Over 1,000 criminal charges for the suspects include contraband introduction, drug trafficking and felons in possession of firearms, officials said. —Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024

Demarco Ransom, 35, was sentenced in late February to four years in prison and three years supervised release, after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. —Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 27 Mar. 2024

In a separate federal criminal investigation, Manning allegedly purchased seven firearms that were later sold to a confidential informant, who was known to be a felon and prohibited from possessing firearms. —Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024

The next time law enforcement resources are needlessly wasted in this manner, the offender will be forever labeled a felon. —Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024

Adjective

And despite a ban on felon possession of weapons, law enforcement searches of his Upper Peninsula home on Jan. 19 turned up a Russian SKS rifle, two shotguns, a Glock pistol and more than 100 rounds of ammunition, prosecutors said. —Washington Post, 28 July 2021

One was to turn most of the felon population over to the U.S. government. —Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2021

Before its passing, Florida had a 150-year ban on felon voting. —Mica Soellner, Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2020

The state sent the felon memo to the 67 county election supervisors this week, but did not distribute it publicly. —Terry Spencer, Star Tribune, 16 Oct. 2020

Just this week, Florida’s Department of State published guidance on ex-felon voting eligibility. —Rachel Glickhouse, ProPublica, 14 Aug. 2020

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia filed a brief asking an appeals court to rule against the state in its ex-felon voting case. —Rachel Glickhouse, ProPublica, 7 Aug. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French felun, fel evildoer, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German fillen to beat, whip, fel skin — more at fell

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

felon

noun

fel·​on

ˈfel-ən

: criminal entry 2

especially : one who has committed a felony

Etymology

Noun

Middle English felon "one who has committed a felony," from early French felon "villain, evildoer," of Germanic origin — related to fell entry 3

Medical Definition

felon

noun

fel·​on

: a painful abscess of the deep tissues of the palmar surface of the fingertip that is typically caused by infection of a bacterium (such as Staphylococcus aureus) and is marked by swelling and pain compare paronychia, whitlow sense 1

Legal Definition

felon

noun

fel·​on ˈfe-lən 

: one who has committed a felony

Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French felon, fel, literally, evildoer, from Old French, probably of Germanic origin