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 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 The malefactors in Roald Dahl’s fiction are easy to spot. — Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 31 May 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
  • California has some of the nation’s toughest gun laws, but state lawmakers are concerned that a new technology is allowing criminals to obtain firearms by building them from scratch.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026
  • This lengthy process was typical of ICE’s previous procedures to track down criminals, Sandweg said, which may have shifted under the demands of this administration’s daily arrest goals.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Definition of criminals
Noun
  • Numerous programs are being implemented to attempt to reduce the probability of recidivism through education and counseling and to reintegrate offenders into society.
    — Ronald J. Allen, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026
  • Ireland has approved landmark legislation to create the country’s first public register of domestic violence offenders, in a move campaigners say will empower people to check whether a potential partner has a history of violence.
    — Kara Fox, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
Definition of offenders
Noun
  • New York’s Bivens Act remedies this by extending the protections of Section 1983 to all individual government wrongdoers — including federal ones.
    — Joel B. Rudin, New York Daily News, 28 June 2026
  • The overpowering moral authority of wronged women, #MeToo’s skeptics alleged, would allow cynical wrongdoers to weaponize claims of victimhood for their own gain.
    — Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 9 June 2026
Definition of wrongdoers
Noun
  • That relationship was based on sinners confessing their sins to this vicar.
    — Pat Saperstein, Variety, 14 June 2026
  • Far too pure for the sinners who run this godless theocracy.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of sinners
Noun
  • The Modi government has portrayed the demonstrators as villains.
    — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 20 July 2026
  • Corey Hawkins, who is also Black, gets more screentime than either and is one of the film’s suitor villains.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of villains

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Cite this Entry

“Malefactors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malefactors. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on malefactors

Nglish: Translation of malefactors for Spanish Speakers

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