malefactors

noun

plural of malefactor
1
as in criminals
a person who commits moral wrongs she regards anyone who would cause the breakup of a family as a malefactor of the worst sort

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2
as in offenders
a person who has committed a crime the victim was able to give a clear description of the malefactor to the police

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 malefactors Once a small-time robber, Pepper is now crumbling from advanced age and damage inflicted by many malefactors, including Pepper himself. — David Hajdu, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026 To be confronted by Mike Wallace was the deepest dread of countless malefactors in public and corporate life. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 June 2026 Electronic medical records were once touted as secure, but whole hospital systems have been taken down and held for ransom by malefactors. — Cory Franklin, Twin Cities, 23 Nov. 2025 The Sea of Excrement, with its bobbing malefactors, is especially memorable. — New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025 On social media, Tan was pugilistic to the point of belligerence, casting his political enemies as corrupt malefactors responsible for the despoliation of his beloved city. — Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025 Either way, The Lowdown finds Harjo dipping into pleasantly familiar reservoirs of fiction in which the protagonists know how to take a constant beating, the malefactors are all suspiciously verbose and ostentatious hats abound. — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malefactors
  1. criminals
  2. offenders
  3. wrongdoers
  4. sinners
  5. villains
Noun
  • The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals exploit citizenship and residency programs to conceal their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • In a world that escalated from criminals planning a heist to steal DVD players to flying in a rocketship to space, anything’s possible.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminals
Noun
  • The prosecutor’s office stated that the Supreme Court could have applied a different interpretation of the law to ensure certain offenders remained on the public list.
    — Alejandro Avila OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Wiener has passed laws protecting net neutrality, capping prescription costs and mandating mental health parity, ending mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, and requiring corporations disclose their greenhouse gas emissions.
    — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of offenders
Noun
  • There’s no major wreckage here, nor is comeuppance meted out to the wrongdoers.
    — Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The Native community had its own ways of punishing wrongdoers, but Stevens’ role was to protect her client’s constitutional rights.
    — Mackenzie Farkus, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrongdoers
Noun
  • On one page, tiny, antlike sinners tumbled down a cliff toward perdition.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • That relationship was based on sinners confessing their sins to this vicar.
    — Pat Saperstein, Variety, 14 June 2026
Definition of sinners
Noun
  • The way it’s framed, both the heroes and the villains can only come from the tech community.
    — Rumman Chowdhury, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2026
  • There aren’t any villains here, just young people making young people mistakes and older people making older people mistakes.
    — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of villains

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malefactor
malefactors
maleness
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Cite this Entry

“Malefactors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malefactors. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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