as in plaintiff
the person in a legal proceeding who makes a charge of wrongdoing against another
the complainant charged that the defendant had broken the ironclad contract that both had signed
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Recent Examples of complainant
The agency currently cannot investigate some North Dakotans’ tips because they must be submitted as formal complaints, which some complainants are uncomfortable doing, agency staff have said.
—
Mary Steurer, ProPublica, 9 June 2025
Another complainant alleges the lack of white people was somehow a throwback to a previous era, as if there was another period in history when only Black people performed at Super Bowl halftime shows.
—David Gilbert, Wired News, 27 Mar. 2025
The seven-month investigation, conducted by U.K. law firm Lewis Silkin, examined 83 specific allegations against the 60-year-old presenter from 41 complainants.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 July 2025
Assistant United States Attorneys Kimberly Veirs and Ellen Bowden McIntyre negotiated the settlement, which awarded $4,000 to the complainant and an additional $2,000 civil penalty to be paid to the United States to vindicate the public interest, the release said.
—Gabrielle Chenault, The Tennessean, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for complainant
Mary Steurer, ProPublica, 9 June 2025
Another complainant alleges the lack of white people was somehow a throwback to a previous era, as if there was another period in history when only Black people performed at Super Bowl halftime shows.
—David Gilbert, Wired News, 27 Mar. 2025
The seven-month investigation, conducted by U.K. law firm Lewis Silkin, examined 83 specific allegations against the 60-year-old presenter from 41 complainants.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 July 2025
Assistant United States Attorneys Kimberly Veirs and Ellen Bowden McIntyre negotiated the settlement, which awarded $4,000 to the complainant and an additional $2,000 civil penalty to be paid to the United States to vindicate the public interest, the release said.
—Gabrielle Chenault, The Tennessean, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for complainant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complainant
plaintiff
Noun
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The lawsuit filed last week names Evie Parts, a 2025 Swarthmore graduate and former member of the women's cross-country and track teams, as the plaintiff.—
Elaine Mallon,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Aug. 2025
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The appropriate venue for plaintiffs to seek additional financial relief would be the Legislature, through the budget process, not through the courts when the State is not responsible for their loss.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Complainant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complainant. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
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