DEFENDANT Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

defendant

noun

Definition of defendant

as in offender

a person who is being sued or accused of a crime in a court of law The jury believed that the defendant was guilty.

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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 defendant The Office of the Court Administrator said the five defendants waived their formal arraignments scheduled for Wednesday and will not appear at the Centre County Courthouse. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026 The co-defendant in the federal criminal case, Vikramjeet Singh, 31, of Fontana in San Bernardino County, also was found guilty of one count conspiracy to commit theft from interstate or foreign shipments. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026 The lawsuit did not name the nurse, the medical group or the hospital as defendants. — Jordan Rau, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026 The suit says the defendants were subject to temporary suspensions and essay-writing assignments. — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for defendant

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defendant

Noun

Those illicit techniques include attaching a GPS tracker to a car or using cell-tower data to track a potential offender.

— Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
The repeat violent offender that attacked multiple women in Dilworth should have never been on the streets.

— Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of offender

Noun

The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals exploit citizenship and residency programs to conceal their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
The real risk is that a criminal could forge your signature on a deed or trick you into signing paperwork that transfers ownership, then file that document with the local office that maintains property records.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

An officer arrested the suspect after spotting him walking alone on a street in Naha's entertainment district late Saturday, Kyodo said.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
An officer arrested the suspect after spotting him walking alone on a street in Naha’s entertainment district late Saturday, Kyodo said.

— Mari Yamaguchi, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of suspect

Noun

Others are inclined to rank evils according to the amount of savagery evident in the perpetrator, not to the damage inflicted on the world.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
The victim described a perpetrator who was 24 to 25 years old, skinny and clean-shaven, with a clear speaking voice.

— Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of perpetrator

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defendable

defendant

defendants

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“Defendant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defendant. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of defendant

noun

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