as in offender
a person who has committed a crime
the police caught the culprit a mere two blocks from the scene of the crime
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 culprit
The documentary showed how the high school, police, Jill and Kendra all initially thought Khloe was the cyberstalking culprit.
—
Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
In the case of the Smurl family, the patriarch’s deteriorating mental health was speculated as the culprit for what was happening at the house.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2025
Rotavirus is the most common culprit for diarrhea in children under 5 in lower-resource countries.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
No one knew who the culprit was.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culprit
Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
In the case of the Smurl family, the patriarch’s deteriorating mental health was speculated as the culprit for what was happening at the house.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2025
Rotavirus is the most common culprit for diarrhea in children under 5 in lower-resource countries.
—Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 10 Sep. 2025
No one knew who the culprit was.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for culprit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for culprit
Noun
-
Just this morning, DHS took violent offenders off the streets with arrests for assault, DUI, and felony stalking.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Instead of a sense of outrage leading to a search for a better solution for repeat violent offenders, her death generated calls for collective retribution and vigilante justice.—
Zeynep Tufekci,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Our research suggests that the vast majority of Republican voters want to close loopholes that allow criminals and dangerous people to get their hands on guns.—
Gabby Giffords,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The days of letting dangerous criminals terrorize American citizens are over.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Culprit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/culprit. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share