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

Prosecutors have requested that the defendants be summoned for questioning, but the judge has not ordered it. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026

Alvin Hellerstein, a federal judge who for decades oversaw some of the country's most high-profile cases, counting among his defendants presidents and CEOs, has died, a spokesperson for the Southern District of New York confirmed Wednesday. — Graham Kates, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026

His co-defendants Deandre Wilson and David Lindsey were convicted of conspiracy to commit stalking, stalking, and stalking resulting in death. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026

All six defendants initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but Brown has since pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and Gorodetsky and Plascencia also both scheduled for change of plea hearings in November. — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026

The other former frat members named as defendants in the lawsuit include Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, Gillio Lopes, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 27 Oct. 2026

More competitive races Prosecutor candidates also give voters choices on which defendants to hold in the local jail, at public expense, while their charges are pending. — Ronald Wright, The Conversation, 27 Oct. 2026

After a 2024 burglary at the store, two of Lucas' co-defendants claimed to Portsmouth Police that about $3,000 of marijuana products were missing. — Dan Mangan, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

These defendants allegedly failed to adequately feed and care for their children. — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026