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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

Arabella MacDonald, prosecuting, told the court: "The complainant came forward after news of Mr Partey's other matters were widely publicised."

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

He maintained his innocence and was later freed after agreeing to an out-of-court settlement with the complainant, who was a friend of his.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

Anderson "desisted" when the woman did not say yes and left the bedroom, at which point the complainant heard her vomiting in the bathroom.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 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.