lawbreaker

noun

law·break·er | \ ˈlȯ-ˌbrā-kər

Definition of lawbreaker

: a person who violates the law

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Examples of lawbreaker in a Sentence

He admitted to being a lawbreaker. legislation that mandates lengthy prison sentences for chronic lawbreakers

Recent Examples on the Web

Image As Roth writes movingly of the human toll of incarceration, there’s a central tension in the book between society’s desire to punish lawbreakers, and the responsibility to care for the sickest among us. — Sam Dolnick, New York Times, "The ‘Insane’ Way Our Prison System Handles the Mentally Ill," 22 May 2018 Source: José de Souza Martins In Brazil, mobs now kill—or try to kill—more than one suspected lawbreaker a day, according to University of São Paulo sociologist José de Souza Martins, Brazil’s leading expert on lynchings. — Samantha Pearson, WSJ, "In Latin America, Awash in Crime, Citizens Impose Their Own Brutal Justice," 6 Dec. 2018 With little faith in the police or the courts to bring criminals to justice, mobs routinely kill suspected lawbreakers in spontaneous attacks. — Samantha Pearson, WSJ, "In Latin America, Awash in Crime, Citizens Impose Their Own Brutal Justice," 6 Dec. 2018 Photos of lawbreakers were displayed alongside their names and government I.D. numbers. — Paul Mozur, New York Times, "Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras," 8 July 2018 Chaos and protection of lawbreakers breeds fear for us, the law-abiders, and your message stokes those fears. — latimes.com, "Costa Mesa City Council showed courage in its defense of federal law," 4 May 2018 Many Republicans deride that plan as amnesty for lawbreakers, a potential attack line their next primary challenger could wield against them. — Alex Pappas, Fox News, "GOP compromise immigration bill defeated on House floor," 27 June 2018 Family separation is not the President’s fault for arresting and prosecuting lawbreakers. — Emily Cadei, sacbee, "'Don’t break the law,' McClintock says to families separated at the border," 20 June 2018 Family separation is not the president’s fault for arresting and prosecuting lawbreakers. — John Wildermuth, SFChronicle.com, "Trump’s shift: For California congressional Republicans, it’s still a crisis," 20 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lawbreaker.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.