1
as in criminal
a person who commits moral wrongs
she regards anyone who would cause the breakup of a family as a malefactor of the worst sort
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in offender
a person who has committed a crime
the victim was able to give a clear description of the malefactor to the police
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 malefactor
This keeps malefactors from abusing the service to snoop on private data other than their own.
—
PCMAG, 7 Jan. 2025
If not properly secured, OTA updates may be intercepted and altered by malefactors, risking the reliability of the entire system.
—Klaudia Zaika, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
In her introductory speech, Amanpour foreshadows what’s to come, warning that malefactors with enticing narratives can only manipulate us because of our eagerness to believe them.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2024
In 2011, ahead of his reelection campaign, Barack Obama traveled to Osawatomie, Kan., to attack the malefactors of great wealth.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for malefactor
PCMAG, 7 Jan. 2025
If not properly secured, OTA updates may be intercepted and altered by malefactors, risking the reliability of the entire system.
—Klaudia Zaika, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
In her introductory speech, Amanpour foreshadows what’s to come, warning that malefactors with enticing narratives can only manipulate us because of our eagerness to believe them.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2024
In 2011, ahead of his reelection campaign, Barack Obama traveled to Osawatomie, Kan., to attack the malefactors of great wealth.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 19 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for malefactor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malefactor
Noun
-
Recently, however, the technology has been used by criminals for purposes of sextortion.—
Steve Weisman,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
-
But with this bill, Republicans are laying the groundwork to gut safeguards that stopped criminals from getting these deadly weapons.—
Khaleda Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 July 2025
Noun
-
Thanks to another recent court ruling, the FCC has also had a harder time fining wrongdoers, Quilici explained.—
Alix Martichoux,
The Hill,
20 June 2025
-
The wrongdoers of today will soon fear his particular brand of Old West Justice!—
Hazlitt,
Hazlitt,
18 June 2025
Noun
-
Serial killers with a code, far-future space operas, superheroes doing battle with dastardly villains.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
12 July 2025
-
But just to use an example, Force Awakens sets up Snoke as the big villain of the new trilogy, with a mysterious backstory.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
12 July 2025
Noun
-
Horses and men, dust and earth, saints and sinners.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
24 June 2025
-
The place where Dante cast endless sinners, upside down in hellholes of their own carving, or in the tangled forest of suicides, or with the fratricides in the ninth circle, all of them eternally condemned.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malefactor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malefactor. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share