malefactor

American  

[mal-uh-fak-ter] / ˈmæl əˌfæk tər /

noun

1. a person who violates the law; criminal.

   Synonyms:

   culprit, felon

2. a person who does harm or evil, especially toward another.

   Antonyms:

   benefactor

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malefactor British  

/ ˈmælɪˌfæktə /

noun

1. a criminal; wrongdoer

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Other Word Forms

• malefaction noun
• malefactress noun

Etymology

Origin of malefactor

1400–50; late Middle English malefactour < Latin malefactor, equivalent to malefac ( ere ) to act wickedly, do an evil deed ( male-, fact ) + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

The boom was over, the supposed malefactors had been brought to justice and reform had come.

From The Wall Street Journal

He’s an honest policeman who describes himself as a “functionnaire,” a civil servant, and whose belief in justice might sometimes lead him to letting a malefactor escape.

From Los Angeles Times

Both the failed hired kidnapper and unlikely rescuer of Juno Temple’s protagonist Dot, the centuries-old sin eater pursues his own peculiar morality, burning malefactors’ eyeballs and demanding pancakes along the way.

From Los Angeles Times

By the spring of 1348, rumors were circulating that malefactors were deliberately causing the plague by poisoning wells.

From Scientific American

Chasing malefactors is how Melanie tries to outrun her past, but the job only bridges the distance, until she is forced to confront her own brokenness.

From Los Angeles Times