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criminal

[krim-uh-nl]
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adjective
  1. of the nature of or involving crime.
  2. guilty of crime.
  3. Law. of or relating to crime or its punishment: a criminal proceeding.
  4. senseless; foolish: It's criminal to waste so much good food.
  5. exorbitant; grossly overpriced: They charge absolutely criminal prices.
noun
  1. a person guilty or convicted of a crime.

Origin of criminal

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French < Late Latin crīminālis, equivalent to Latin crīmin- (stem of crīmen; see crime) + -ālis -al1
Related formscrim·i·nal·ly, adverbnon·crim·i·nal, adjective, nounnon·crim·i·nal·ly, adverbqua·si-crim·i·nal, adjectivequa·si-crim·i·nal·ly, adverbsub·crim·i·nal, adjectivesub·crim·i·nal·ly, adverbsu·per·crim·i·nal, adjective, nounsu·per·crim·i·nal·ly, adverbun·crim·i·nal, adjectiveun·crim·i·nal·ly, adverb

Synonyms

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1. felonious, unlawful. See illegal. 6. malefactor, evildoer, transgressor, culprit, felon, crook, hoodlum, gangster.

Antonyms

1. lawful. 2. innocent.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for quasi-criminal

Historical Examples

  • And was not the same imperfect social system partly responsible for the quasi-criminal attitude which had been forced upon him?

    The Price

    Francis Lynde

  • The Sigurimi was the shadowy, quasi-criminal state security apparatus.

    After the Rain

    Sam Vaknin

  • The members of the Council who had conducted the previous examinations were directed to sit as a quasi-criminal Court.

    Sir Walter Ralegh

    William Stebbing

British Dictionary definitions for quasi-criminal

criminal

noun
  1. a person charged with and convicted of crime
  2. a person who commits crimes for a living
adjective
  1. of, involving, or guilty of crime
  2. (prenominal) of or relating to crime or its punishmentcriminal court; criminal lawyer
  3. informal senseless or deplorablea criminal waste of money
Derived Formscriminally, adverb

Word Origin

C15: from Late Latin crīminālis; see crime, -al 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for quasi-criminal

criminal

adj.

early 15c., from Middle French criminel (11c.), from Latin criminalis "pertaining to crime," from crimen (genitive criminis); see crime. Preserves the Latin -n-. Criminal law (or criminal justice) distinguished from civil in English at least since late 15c.

criminal

n.

1620s, from criminal (adj.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper