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lawbreaker

[law-brey-ker]
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noun
  1. a person who breaks or violates the law.
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Origin of lawbreaker

before 1050; Middle English lawbreker; replacing Old English lahbreca. See law1, breaker1
Related formslaw·break·ing, noun, adjective

Synonyms

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transgressor, criminal offender, perpetrator.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

delinquentculpritoffendergangstermobsterhooliganfugitivecrookracketeerfelonhoodlumscofflawmalefactoroutlawconvicthoodconjailbird

Examples from the Web for lawbreaker

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Since then Wade, besides insulting me, has proved himself a lawbreaker.

    Hidden Gold

    Wilder Anthony

  • Pima Pete had been a lawbreaker, and there was a reward out for him.

    Motor Matt's Race

    Stanley R. Matthews

  • If we ask what his character is, the answer must be, "He is a lawbreaker."

  • One does not have to break all the laws to become a lawbreaker.

  • Thou thinkest me a thief, a lawbreaker, because I took that fellow's knife?'

    Oriental Encounters

    Marmaduke Pickthall

British Dictionary definitions for lawbreaker

lawbreaker

noun
  1. a person who breaks the law
  2. informal something that does not conform with legal standards or requirements
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Derived Formslawbreaking, noun, adjective
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

Word Origin and History for lawbreaker

n.

also law-breaker, mid-15c., from law + agent noun from break (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper