crime

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun crime contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of crime are offense, scandal, sin, and vice. While all these words mean "a transgression of law," crime implies a serious offense punishable by the law of the state.

the crime of murder

When would offense be a good substitute for crime?

The words offense and crime are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, offense applies to the infraction of any law, rule, or code.

at that school no offense went unpunished

When can scandal be used instead of crime?

The meanings of scandal and crime largely overlap; however, scandal applies to an offense that outrages the public conscience.

a career ruined by a sex scandal

When is sin a more appropriate choice than crime?

The synonyms sin and crime are sometimes interchangeable, but sin implies an offense against moral or religious law.

the sin of blasphemy

When could vice be used to replace crime?

In some situations, the words vice and crime are roughly equivalent. However, vice applies to a habit or practice that degrades or corrupts.

regarded gambling as a vice

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of crime Gallegos was not named in the indictments and has not been charged with any crimes. Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 16 Oct. 2025 The overwhelming reception has focused on the film’s unexpected humor and tonal originality, despite its true-crime origins. Clayton Davis, Variety, 16 Oct. 2025 Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day. Jessica Alvarado Gamez, Denver Post, 16 Oct. 2025 This is a crime that many, many authors have committed in the past, will commit in the present, and will continue to commit far into the future. Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for crime
Recent Examples of Synonyms for crime
Noun
  • John Sandweg, former acting director of ICE under President Barack Obama, said the tactics are not aimed at fighting criminality – they’re designed to increase overall arrests.
    Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Rank, whose company recently remade Ingmar Bergsson classic film Faithless as a European TV series, praised Adolescence for matching up the genre beats of a crime story with the higher concepts around criminality, toxic masculinity and family, and the one-shot filming techniques.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • What a shame Dennis Gimball won’t be alive to run on it.
    Scott Tobias, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Which is a shame, as Denver had veteran hands on-side.
    Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 15 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Some earlier African intellectuals looked at Black America with pity, even disdain.
    Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Weeping savors a virtue — compassion, tenderness, pity, love.
    Big Think, Big Think, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • That will kick off a public process in which the City Council will carefully consider which violations warrant the use of of administrative citations and how the fines will be scaled.
    Wes Burdine, Twin Cities, 19 Oct. 2025
  • Currently, nearly 60,000 people are being held by ICE, almost half have no criminal record, only immigration violations.
    ABC News, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In early Christian thinking, its connotations of languor and listlessness, within the spirit no less than the body, lent it the status of a sin—a turning aside from God for the sake of earthly sorrow.
    Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Nadal believes clay-court tennis at night is something like a sin against the sport, but 2020 was the first year in which Court Philippe-Chatrier held a session that went past darkness.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • McCrary, a California resident, had previously been charged with four felony counts related to delinquent child support payments.
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 15 Oct. 2025
  • Walker-Yeager is facing felony charges for allegedly shooting her contractor in 2024.
    Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Crime.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/crime. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on crime

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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