criminous
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of criminous
1425–75; late Middle English < Old French crimineux < Medieval Latin, Latin crīminōsus, equivalent to crīmin- (stem of crīmen; see crime) + -ōsus -ous
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.
“I Hear a New World” is more speculative fantasy than crime fiction, yet it has enough criminous content to enchant mystery readers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Be sure not to miss Lord Dunsany’s criminous masterpiece, “The Two Bottles of Relish,” or Bob Shaw’s heartbreakingly beautiful science fiction masterpiece, “Light of Other Days.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2022
For further criminous diversion, I spent one evening enjoying the hit film “Knives Out,” while noting the flaws in its intricate plot.
From Washington Post ● May 5, 2020
This cliffhanger-packed mystery features a ghoulish killer, the eerie Green Archer, and is Wallace’s criminous chef d’oeuvre, enthusiastically praised by both the Sherlockian Vincent Starrett and the polymath Martin Gardner.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2019
There, however, with a few even younger men who admired his standpoint and revelled in his store of criminous annals, or with his patient, inscrutable mother, Oswald Melvin was another being.
From Stingaree by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)
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.
