Definition of wrongdoernext
as in criminal
a person who commits moral wrongs anticorruption crusaders are going after wrongdoers at every level of the nation's government

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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 wrongdoer And when thunderclaps rattled their chests, the Chinese felt a deity punishing wrongdoers. Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026 But critics of this effort say this internal mechanism fails to provide meaningful accountability and would protect wrongdoers from any future state bar investigation. Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 25 Apr. 2026 Anderson frames his argument largely in relation to the thought of thirteenth-century theologian Thomas Aquinas, who argued that Christians are generally obliged to directly confront someone who is behaving wrongly, and to do it in private to preserve the wrongdoer’s reputation. Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 26 Mar. 2026 He’s talked tough in news conferences about prosecuting child predators, drug traffickers and assorted wrongdoers. Dan Sullivan, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for wrongdoer
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrongdoer
Noun
  • The detective-heroines (and especially the actress-detectives) in this canon are careful about how performance might be extended to social duplicity, dishonesty, and fraud—but the lady criminals of Victorian detective fiction cross this line easily.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026
  • From 1873 to 1991, the island served as Costa Rica’s principal penitentiary, where some of the country’s worst criminals were sent to serve often short and torturous sentences.
    Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 24 July 2026
Noun
  • Because of his previous felonies, though none for violent crimes, Pfister could now be defined as a habitual offender under Michigan law and faces prison.
    Kyung Lah, CNN Money, 25 July 2026
  • That’s like staying in the dugout during a bench-clearing brawl after a pitcher plonks a batter, then offering the offender a handshake the next inning.
    Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026
Noun
  • That relationship was based on sinners confessing their sins to this vicar.
    Pat Saperstein, Variety, 14 June 2026
  • More joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine righteous people who’ve got nothing to repent.
    Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Noun
  • The Athletic’s hockey staff came together to identify the definitive on-ice villain for every team in the NHL.
    Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 27 July 2026
  • Em details how Alan Rickman who played Hans Gruber, one of the most iconic villains in film history, offered director John McTiernan several key ideas that improved the film.
    Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Wrongdoer.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrongdoer. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

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