lawbreaker

[law-brey-ker]

noun

1. a person who breaks or violates the law.

   Synonyms: perpetrator, criminal, transgressor

lawbreaker

/ ˈlɔːˌbreɪkə /

noun

1. a person who breaks the law

2. informal,  something that does not conform with legal standards or requirements

Other Word Forms

• lawbreaking noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawbreaker¹

before 1050; Middle English lawbreker; replacing Old English lahbreca. See law ¹, breaker ¹

Example Sentences

This time, though, we know who the lawbreakers are, but at least initially, not their very human, messy motivations.

From Salon

He promised a violent crackdown on lawbreakers in the city.

From Salon

Noting that the unrest was confined to a small section of downtown, Hochman promised to hold the lawbreakers accountable and disputed that Los Angeles was “under siege.”

From Los Angeles Times

“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation … . Anxiety for families and friends ramped up. Protests started again … . Several dozen lawbreakers became violent and destructive.”

From Los Angeles Times

He added that he was accusing Ms Mellinger of breaking the law, rather than Sir Keir, but claimed the comment about lawmakers not being lawbreakers applied to the Prime Minister "by proxy".

From BBC

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• criminal 
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• hoodlum 
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• offender 
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• scofflaw