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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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

The law would extend the time that repeat DUI offenders would have their driver’s license suspended from three years to six years.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026
More often than not, this audit finds the larger offenders causing the retention problem.

— Kellie Lauth, Forbes.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Definition of offender

Noun

Removing violent criminals, gang members, cartel members and those who refuse to work is wise and popular policy.

— Don Bacon, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2026
Americans have demonized us as criminals, buffoons, lechers, invaders, criminals and job stealers since the fall of the Alamo.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

Cleburne police have filed additional charges in connection with an August pursuit that ended with an officer wounded and a suspect killed, officials said Saturday.

— Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Sep. 2026
Police had not released information about a suspect as of that time.

— Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 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 2 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of defendant

noun

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