criminality

noun

crim·​i·​nal·​i·​ty ˌkri-mə-ˈna-lə-tē 

1

: the quality or state of being criminal

2

: criminal activity

urban criminality

Synonyms

• crime

Examples of criminality in a Sentence

a report on the drop in criminality in large urban centers

Recent Examples on the Web

But the question, as Stephanopoulos kept insisting, was not about whether this rose to the level of criminality. —Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025

Be the literal poster children for adolescent criminality? —Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025

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

Word History

Etymology

criminal entry 1 + -ity, perhaps after French criminalité

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for criminality

• abnormality
• cardinality
• commonality
• communality
• cordiality
• corporeality
• criticality
• functionality
• generality
• geniality
• hospitality
• illegality

Legal Definition

criminality

noun

crim·​i·​nal·​i·​ty ˌkri-mə-ˈna-lə-tē 

1

: the quality or state of being criminal

can't understand the criminality of his act

2

: crime sense 3

violent criminality