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 defendant and others allegedly used a yacht that departed from the German port of Rostock. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 If convicted of all charges, the defendants face up to 35 years in prison. — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026 Salerno, Pham’s co-defendant and friend since middle school, did not address the court. — Charlotte Observer, 13 Oct. 2026 One defendant pleaded guilty in May of this year, while three others are awaiting trial. — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for defendant

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defendant

Noun

The Oak Lawn and Alsip village boards voted to regulate the use of security foggers in businesses as a method to deter offenders.

— Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
Too often, special occasions can feel like an excuse to buy a new outfit; weddings are the worst offenders.

— Corinne Pierre-Louis, Vogue, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of offender

Noun

Still, a criminal may combine those details with passwords, PINs or other information stolen elsewhere.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Pillay, 85, received the news while attending a forum in Nuremberg, Germany, where the trials of Nazi war criminals helped lay the foundations of international law.

— Stefanie Dazio, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

Throughout Israel’s history, even in the rare cases of conviction of a soldier or a policeman for killing Palestinians, the maximum time a perpetrator spent in prison was three years and four months.

— Tamir Sorek, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026
Before the crime is committed, a construction worker stares at the perpetrator in the back of the vehicle.

— E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 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 17 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of defendant

noun

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