criminal

American  

[krim-uh-nl] / ˈkrɪm ə nl /

adjective

1. of the nature of or involving crime.

   Synonyms:

   unlawful , felonious

   Antonyms

   lawful

2. guilty of crime.

   Antonyms

   innocent

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.

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noun

1. a person guilty or convicted of a crime.

   Synonyms:

   gangster , hoodlum , crook , felon , culprit , transgressor , evildoer , malefactor

criminal British  

/ ˈkrɪmɪnəl /

noun

1. a person charged with and convicted of crime

2. a person who commits crimes for a living

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adjective

1. of, involving, or guilty of crime

2. (prenominal) of or relating to crime or its punishment

   criminal court

   criminal lawyer

3. informal  senseless or deplorable

   a criminal waste of money

Usage

What is a basic definition of criminal? A criminal is a person who commits crime. Criminal is also used to describe something involved in committing crime or related to crime. Criminal has a few other senses as an adjective.A criminal is a person who breaks the law and engages in illegal activity.

• Real-life examples: Shoplifters, kidnappers, bank robbers, and pirates are all criminals.
• Used in a sentence: The judged sentenced the two wanted criminals to prison for stealing a car.

As an adjective, criminal describes something involved in or related to committing a crime.

• Real-life examples: Stealing a car, robbing someone’s house, and printing fake money to use as real money are all criminal acts. They are all against the law, and a person will be arrested if caught doing any of these acts. Police might say a person is accused of criminal activity if they believe the person was doing something illegal.
• Used in a sentence: The gangster Al Capone was in charge of a criminal organization.

Criminal can also be used to describe something that is related to crime without actually engaging in it.

• Real-life examples: In the United States, criminal law is a collection of laws that state what the government or society says is a crime and will result in punishment by the state if someone is proved to have broken the law. A criminal lawyer is a lawyer who specializes in criminal law.
• Used in a sentence: When Jimmy was arrested for breaking into his neighbor’s house, he called a criminal lawyer to help him.

Related Words

See illegal.

Other Word Forms

• criminally adverb
• noncriminal adjective
• noncriminally adverb
• quasi-criminal adjective
• quasi-criminally adverb
• subcriminal adjective
• subcriminally adverb
• supercriminal adjective
• supercriminally adverb
• uncriminal adjective
• uncriminally adverb

Etymology

Origin of criminal

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin crīminālis, from Latin crīmin- (stem of crīmen “accusation, blame, charge”; crime ) + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

The ruling may force the justice department to find a new prosecutor to supervise federal criminal cases in New Jersey.

From BBC

Mozambique and Switzerland brought criminal and civil proceedings, and in 2021 Credit Suisse paid $475 million to settle charges that it defrauded some investors in the debt deals.

From The Wall Street Journal

The accident, which spawned congressional hearings, litigation and a criminal probe, galvanized opponents of nuclear power.

From The Wall Street Journal

A local Fox News affiliate identified the suspect as Hector Gomez, but a criminal complaint makes no mention of shooting at agents.

From Los Angeles Times

In October, the FBI issued a memo urging agents to show their identification when they are out in public, after a string of incidents that included masked criminals posing as immigration agents.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• convict
• crook
• culprit
• felon
• fugitive
• gangster
• hoodlum
• hooligan
• lawbreaker
• mobster
• offender
• thug