perpetrator
[ pur-pi-trey-ter ]
/ ˈpɜr pɪˌtreɪ tər /
noun
a person who perpetrates, or commits, an illegal, criminal, or evil act: The perpetrators of this heinous crime must be found and punished to the fullest extent of the law.
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RELATED WORDS
executioner, criminal, soldier, assassin, culprit, miscreant, crook, trespasser, violator, homicide, killer, butcher, slayer, cutthroat, enforcer, malefactor, offender, felon, transgressor, sinner
Nearby words
- perpensity,
- perpent,
- perpetrable,
- perpetrate,
- perpetration,
- perpetual,
- perpetual adoration,
- perpetual calendar,
- perpetual check,
- perpetual debenture
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for perpetrator
perpetrator
literally "the one who did it" (in English usually an evil act), 1560s, from Late Latin perpetrator, agent noun of perpetrare "to perform, to accomplish" (see perpetrate). Fem. forms are perpetratress (1811, of Nero's poisoner Locusta); perpetratrix (1862, in reference to Charlotte Corday).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper