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Showing results for complainant. Search instead for complaintant.
Synonyms

complainant

American  
[kuhm-pley-nuhnt] / kəmˈpleɪ nənt /

noun

  1. a person, group, or company that makes a complaint, as in a legal action.

complainant British  
/ kəmˈpleɪnənt /

noun

  1. law a person who makes a complaint, usually before justices; plaintiff

"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

Etymology

Origin of complainant

1375–1425; late Middle English < Anglo-French compleignant (present participle of compleindre ). See complain, -ant

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In all of the documents Mr. Clark pored over, however, he didn’t find a single female complainant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Harris said he had considered the possibility that Donaldson's reported comments could be a "form of control" against the complainant.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

ABE interviews are police recorded video interviews with a complainant.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026

On 25 November, Mr Vickers went to her home address and advised her husband that he would issue a community resolution, an informal agreement between a complainant and an alleged offender.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026

Not only did it usually fill space and send the complainant away happy, it made us look honest.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.