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

Arizona’s attorney general, meanwhile, has filed criminal charges against the companies behind Kalshi’s prediction markets for operating an illegal gambling business without a license and for election wagering.

From The Wall Street Journal

Heifler, who is a US citizen, has been described by police as an "extremist with no criminal record with the New York Police Department", CBS News, the BBC's US partner, reported.

From BBC

"I would have been mistaken for thinking I'd done some serious misconduct or some criminal offence - instead I told a bad joke for which I've apologised," he added.

From BBC

He will be subject to a criminal behaviour order which will restrict his use of computers and the internet.

From BBC

Local and state prosecutors don’t have the authority to subpoena them for evidence like in a typical criminal investigation.

From Salon

Related Words

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