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

An attorney representing the construction company has also denied the defendants’ allegations and could not be reached for comment Tuesday. — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 9 July 2026

The suit names Yale New Haven Hospital, Midstate Medical Center, and Hartford Healthcare Corporation as defendants. — Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 9 July 2026

Earlier this year, a Times investigation revealed ICE deported an informant who had turned against two of his co-defendants in a meth smuggling case. — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Attorneys from South Florida didn’t let their plaintiff client’s death keep them from putting his name on lawsuit settlements and collecting money from the defendants, according to the state Supreme Court. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 8 July 2026

Federal authorities charged 37 defendants and arrested 24 — 11 in California, including one in Sacramento. — Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026

The defendants will also pay $150,000 for Johnson’s attorney’s fees. — Brieanna J. Frank, USA Today, 8 July 2026

The complaint names the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and the Department of State as some of the defendants. — ABC News, 7 July 2026

His girlfriend, Syanna Ruiz, held their child in court, demanding the defendants remain behind bars. — Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 2 July 2026