culprit

[ kuhl-prit ]
/ ˈkʌl prɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR culprit ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or other agent guilty of or responsible for an offense or fault.
a person arraigned for an offense.

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a creature, variously described as a serpent, lizard, or dragon, said to kill by its breath or look.
place or source of origin.
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Origin of culprit

1670–80; traditionally explained as cul (representing Latin culpābilis guilty) + prit (representing Anglo-French prest ready), marking the prosecution as ready to prove the defendant's guilt. See culpable, presto

Words nearby culprit

culpa, culpability, culpable, culpable homicide, culpeper, culprit, cult, cult of personality, cultch, cultellus, cultic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to culprit

miscreant, offender, fugitive, felon, wrongdoer, criminal, malefactor, delinquent, evildoer, rascal, convict, con, jailbird, transgressor, yardbird, sinner

Example sentences from the Web for culprit

British Dictionary definitions for culprit

culprit
/ (ˈkʌlprɪt) /

noun

law a person awaiting trial, esp one who has pleaded not guilty
the person responsible for a particular offence, misdeed, etc

Word Origin for culprit

C17: from Anglo-French cul-, short for culpable guilty + prit ready, indicating that the prosecution was ready to prove the guilt of the one charged
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