criminal

1 of 2

adjective

crim·​i·​nal ˈkri-mə-nᵊl How to pronounce criminal (audio)
ˈkrim-nəl
1
: relating to, involving, or being a crime
criminal neglect
a criminal organization
2
: relating to crime or to the prosecution of suspects in a crime
criminal statistics
brought criminal action
the criminal justice system
3
: guilty of crime
also : of or befitting a criminal
a criminal mind
4
: disgraceful
It's criminal how unfunny this comedy is.Rick Bentley
criminally adverb

criminal

2 of 2

noun

1
: one who has committed a crime
2
: a person who has been convicted of a crime

Examples of criminal in a Sentence

Adjective a history of criminal behavior The captain of the wrecked boat was accused of criminal negligence. The company brought criminal charges against her. It's criminal that the government is doing nothing to stop the problem. Noun car thieves, pickpockets, burglars, and other criminals
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Trump Former President Donald Trump is now facing 88 charges over four criminal indictments in Georgia, New York, Washington, DC, and Florida. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 Lawrence Jones, a criminal investigator with the public integrity bureau, did not begin looking into Vicknair until the following Monday, Sept. 21. Carolyn Van Houten, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2024 Since around that time, the DOJ and FTC have successfully broken up deals in the airline, pharmaceutical and hospitality industries — securing guilty pleas in criminal monopolization cases along the way. Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024 Prosecutors say Trump's team is just trying to delay the trial in Florida, and argued the criminal proceedings should begin in July. Robert Legare, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024 His drug habit started young; so did his criminal rap sheet, with stints in juvenile hall for grand theft auto and burglary. Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 The first indictment made Trump the only U.S. president to face criminal charges, and the next two further distinguished him as the only president to face federal charges. Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 13 Mar. 2024 Police in Lithuania launched a criminal investigation. USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2024 Since mid-2021, investigators have launched criminal cases against more than a dozen people linked to com groups in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Romania, and Brazil. Ali Winston, WIRED, 13 Mar. 2024
Noun
The hope is that keeping criminals off the streets will lessen the amount of crime that is committed, and deter others from committing crime. Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024 The pens found in Britain include crude fakes as well as ones distributed in bulk by more sophisticated criminals. Ashleigh Furlong, Fortune Europe, 13 Mar. 2024 From debt, obviously, but also from the dangerous criminals who are out to get him. Marta Balaga, Variety, 12 Mar. 2024 Today’s criminals have become brazen in their schemes, impersonating people from the SSA or other government agencies, like the IRS, in an attempt to obtain personal information or money. Jill Schlesinger, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Another criminal posed as a representative of the victim’s bank. Tara Siegel Bernard, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2024 Outside the room, Trump’s remark drew condemnation for playing on stereotypes labeling Black people as criminals. Marianne Levine, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 The lawsuit accuses gun retailers and manufacturers of irresponsible businesses practices that allowed criminals to access guns. The Indianapolis Star, 6 Mar. 2024 Groups open to affiliates are especially resilient unless the trust among the criminals is broken, said Chris Krebs, former head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Democrat-Gazette Staff and Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'criminal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French criminal, borrowed from Latin crīminālis, from crīmin-, crīmen "indictment, crime" + -ālis -al entry 1

Noun

derivative of criminal entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of criminal was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near criminal

Cite this Entry

“Criminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criminal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

criminal

1 of 2 adjective
crim·​i·​nal ˈkrim-ən-ᵊl How to pronounce criminal (audio)
ˈkrim-nəl
1
: being or guilty of a crime
a criminal act
2
: relating to crime or its punishment
criminal court
criminality
ˌkrim-ə-ˈnal-ət-ē
noun
criminally
ˈkrim-ən-ᵊl-ē
-nə-lē
adverb

criminal

2 of 2 noun
: a person who has committed a crime

Legal Definition

criminal

1 of 2 adjective
crim·​i·​nal ˈkri-mə-nəl How to pronounce criminal (audio)
1
: relating to, involving, or being a crime
criminal neglect
criminal conduct
2
: relating to crime or its prosecution
brought a criminal action
criminal code
compare civil sense 4, penal

criminal

2 of 2 noun
1
: one who has committed a crime
2
: a person who has been convicted of a crime

More from Merriam-Webster on criminal

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