defendant

noun

Definition of defendantnext
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 No law requires debt collectors to request arrest warrants when defendants fail to appear in court. — Jack Harvel, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2026 The three parties are defendants in a suit brought by Timothy Reif, a descendant of Fritz Grünbaum, a Jewish performer and collector killed in a Nazi camp in 1941. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 2 Nov. 2026 Shahrzad Shahbazi, a lawyer representing defendants in the case, has disputed the official account, saying none had formally been charged with murder and there was no fair trial. — ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026 According to Open Class Actions, claims against co-defendants Meta and Google will continue separately. — Brian Sloan, CNBC, 2 Nov. 2026 See All Example Sentences for defendant
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defendant
  1. offender
  2. criminal
  3. suspect
  4. perpetrator
Noun
  • Schneider says royal ferns are known for doing this in the garden, while Jose Lopez, owner and founder of Williams Landscaping Chicago, says ostrich ferns and lady ferns are other common offenders.
    — The Spruce, The Spruce, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Since taking office, the Governor has funded law enforcement at record levels and strengthened bail and discovery laws to hold all violent offenders accountable.
    — Kelsie Cairns , Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of offender
Noun
  • The trailers were recovered by police nearby, presumably after the criminals cut the locks to reveal they were each loaded with 20,000 pounds of sand.
    — Nick Indge, ArsTechnica, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Without changing state law, criminals can continue to be sentenced to death in California.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • Hours after the attack, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said authorities found the bodies of three of the suspect's close family members -- two women and a man -- inside of his home in Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski, a city about 100 miles northeast of Krakow.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The suspect’s dead sibling was a young artist studying at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts, which confirmed that Magdalena Oksińska was a third-year student.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of suspect
Noun
  • The church investigated the first incident in 2005 but did not report it to law enforcement when the victims couldn’t positively identify the perpetrator, and the man returned for the 2006 camp.
    — John Hanna, Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Commissioner [Jessica] Tisch that the NYPD is pulling out all the stops in their efforts to catch the perpetrator.
    — Kelsie Cairns , Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of perpetrator

Browse Nearby Words

defendable
defendant
defendants
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Cite this Entry

“Defendant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defendant. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about defendant

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