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

Amid the ongoing bin strike, parts of the city have also seen "environmental criminals" littering pavements and parks with unwanted items.

From BBC

Finland detained that ship, known as the Eagle S, and prosecutors brought criminal charges against its captain and two crew members.

From The Wall Street Journal

Both face U.S. criminal charges similar to those filed against Maduro and are unlikely to cooperate with Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal

The bill would create criminal sanctions for breaches in the duty for candour.

From BBC

Medical schools received hanged criminals and deceased orphans, but demand greatly outstripped supply.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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