Synonyms of crooks

crooks 1 of 2

noun

plural of crook

1

as in criminals

a person who has committed a crime

a guy at the bar was raving about how all politicians are basically crooks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• criminals
• offenders
• culprits
• lawbreakers
• defendants
• miscreants
• malefactors
• perpetrators
• accomplices
• thugs
• guns
• principals
• outlaws
• villains
• desperadoes
• suspects
• gangsters
• hoodlums
• racketeers
• convicts
• jailbirds
• mobsters
• misdemeanants
• perps
• wrongdoers
• trespassers
• hooligans
• sinners
• transgressors
• fish
• recidivists
• evildoers
• backsliders
• detainees
• enforcers
• triggermen
• arrestees
• misdoers
• gunmen
• gunsels
• button men
• blackhanders
• misfeasors
• gallows birds
• accused
• repeaters
• hit men
• relapsers

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lawmen
• gangbusters

2

as in curves

something that curves or is curved

carried the baby in the crook of her arm

Synonyms & Similar Words

• curves
• curvatures
• bends
• angles
• winds
• turns
• arches
• bows
• arcs
• corners
• inflections
• folds
• slopes
• twists
• curls
• rings
• coils
• windings
• circles
• swirls
• loops
• warps
• convolutions
• ringlets
• kinks
• buckles
• spirals
• rounds
• reflections
• inclinations
• curlicues
• flexures
• inclines
• incurvatures
• hairpins
• turnoffs
• declines
• doglegs

crooks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of crook

1

as in bends

to cause to turn away from a straight line

crooked a finger

Synonyms & Similar Words

• bends
• hooks
• arches
• curves
• bows
• twists
• curls
• waves
• swerves
• turns
• swirls
• rounds
• arcs
• coils
• loops
• deflects
• kinks
• dents
• weaves
• diverts
• reflects
• inflects
• veers
• spirals
• twines
• slopes
• dimples
• winds
• incurves
• entwines
• warps
• incurvates
• meanders
• inclines
• enrolls
• declines

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straightens
• unbends
• uncurls

2

as in trends

to turn away from a straight line or course

the road suddenly crooked to the left

Synonyms & Similar Words

• curves
• trends
• sweeps
• wheels
• falls off
• rounds
• bows
• hooks
• winds
• arches
• bends
• circles
• loops
• turns
• arcs
• coils
• curls
• swerves
• spirals
• curlicues
• twists
• deviates
• veers

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• straightens

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of crooks

Noun

Cox, working like a shoestring Peckinpah, sets up Strindler against the crooks who run the border town — the corrupt mayor and sheriff and a wealthy rancher. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2026

The first chink in the armor came when (human) crooks started assembling CAPTCHA farms. — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Also in his orbit are a consortium of crooks, including his cousin Freddie, a hip junkie, and Pepper, a taciturn hoodlum who was friends with Ray’s dad, Big Mike, a legendary thief. — Niela Orr, Vulture, 20 July 2026

Nonetheless, skeptics seized on the news to warn that airport workers seeking a payoff might collude to cancel a flight, or that crooks could call in fake threats to shut down air travel. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 16 July 2026

Some people, however, take more than others, with cops and crooks snagging the lion’s share while ordinary people divvy up the scraps. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 July 2026

Had modern cryptographic algorithms been available to the crooks in this tale, Holmes would have been out of luck. — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 1 July 2026

Charles Cioffi, the veteran character actor who portrayed lots of cops and crooks in projects including Klute, Shaft, Get Christie Love! — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 27 May 2026

Or the fact that all cops may not be crooks. — Literary Hub, 6 May 2026