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

criminals plural

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.

Synonym Usage

See illegal.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• criminals
  plural

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”; see crime) + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

A criminal is someone who breaks the law. If you're a murderer, thief, or tax cheat, you're a criminal. When you think of criminals, your first thought might be of someone awful like a murderer. But this word is a lot broader — Anyone who breaks the law is technically a criminal, even if the crime is just not paying a speeding ticket. You can also talk about criminal activities: things that are illegal. Lots of TV shows are about police officers and lawyers trying to catch criminals who are engaged in all kinds of exciting criminal activity.

Example Sentences

Michael Schachter, his criminal defense attorney, did not respond to messages seeking comment.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2026

Both criminal defendants and civil immigration detainees rely on habeas, despite the best efforts of the Supreme Court to narrow the circumstances in which habeas is available.

From Slate • Jul. 6, 2026

An SNP spokesperson said: "The criminal actions of Peter Murrell were uncovered by a complex and extensive police investigation which found the SNP was the victim of embezzlement."

From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026

The county attorney has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the incident and decide whether to bring criminal charges.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 5, 2026

Several kids hovered over news-boxes, turning the crank slowly to watch the latest headlines about the Cards of Deadly Fate and the criminal on the loose.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

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