malefactor

[mal-uh-fak-ter]

noun

1. a person who violates the law; criminal.

   Synonyms: culprit, felon

2. a person who does harm or evil, especially toward another.

   Antonyms: benefactor

malefactor

/ ˈmælɪˌfæktə /

noun

1. a criminal; wrongdoer

Other Word Forms

• malefactress noun
• malefaction noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of malefactor¹

1400–50; late Middle English malefactour < Latin malefactor, equivalent to malefac ( ere ) to act wickedly, do an evil deed ( male-, fact ) + -tor -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of malefactor¹

C15: via Old French from Latin, from malefacere to do evil

Example Sentences

He’s an honest policeman who describes himself as a “functionnaire,” a civil servant, and whose belief in justice might sometimes lead him to letting a malefactor escape.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One of the unfortunate byproducts of polarizing events is the fact that there are not only domestic malefactors, but international ones that will exploit it,” Levin said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

These anachronisms and inequities are further exacerbated by the unaccountable malefactors of the wealthiest classes, who are able to thwart any fundamental reforms that might weaken the popular urge for a radical or totalitarian solution.

Read more on Salon

Both the failed hired kidnapper and unlikely rescuer of Juno Temple’s protagonist Dot, the centuries-old sin eater pursues his own peculiar morality, burning malefactors’ eyeballs and demanding pancakes along the way.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

By the spring of 1348, rumors were circulating that malefactors were deliberately causing the plague by poisoning wells.

Read more on Scientific American