Synonyms of defendants

defendants

noun

plural of defendant

as in offenders

a person who is being sued or accused of a crime in a court of law

The jury believed that the defendant was guilty.

Related Words

• offenders
• criminals
• suspects
• accused
• perpetrators
• culprits
• convicts
• arrestees
• detainees
• accomplices
• principals
• fish
• lawbreakers
• misdemeanants
• crooks
• malefactors
• miscreants
• outlaws
• desperadoes
• jailbirds
• villains
• wrongdoers
• trespassers
• perps
• racketeers
• gangsters
• thugs
• sinners
• mobsters
• hoodlums
• transgressors
• guns
• hooligans
• recidivists
• triggermen
• misdoers
• misfeasors
• evildoers
• gallows birds
• enforcers
• blackhanders
• backsliders
• gunmen
• button men
• gunsels
• hit men
• relapsers
• repeaters

Dissimilar Words

• lawmen
• gangbusters

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of defendants

One of the defendants, Edward James Porter of Berwyn, allegedly called an unnamed witness on July 31 and threatened to kill them and their family, according to an affidavit. — Josh Kelety, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026

Emails sent to addresses listed in an affidavit for one of the defendants went unanswered. — ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026

The lawsuits will allege defendants failed to properly test and maintain cooling towers, including at Harlem Hospital. — Katie Houlis, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026

In a social media post, James Lee Bright, a lawyer for Rhodes, congratulated the defendants. — Carrie Johnson, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026

The negligence lawsuit names FDOT and 14 companies as defendants. — Brittany Wallman, Miami Herald, 31 July 2026

Emily Moreno and Zashin are the subjects of Miller’s defamation lawsuit, which alleged the defendants disseminated domestic abuse allegations that were then published by national and regional news outlets. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 30 July 2026

Commentary and opinions Columnist Steve Lopez gives readers an inside look into a Hollywood courtroom where defendants are sentenced to get help and graduations are celebrated. — Los Angeles Times, 30 July 2026

Attorneys for the three defendants did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. — Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026