felonious
Americanadjective
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Law. pertaining to, of the nature of, or involving a felony.
felonious homicide; felonious intent.
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wicked; base; villainous.
adjective
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criminal law of, involving, or constituting a felony
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obsolete wicked; base
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of felonious
1375–1425; felony + -ous; replacing late Middle English felonous < Anglo-French, Old French
Explanation
Something felonious is against the law, or related to crime. A felonious spree might involve stealing cars and robbing banks. Criminal activity is felonious, and if you know someone who shoplifts or steals credit card numbers, you could call him your felonious acquaintance. If a jewelry store manager forgets to lock the shop door, it's a felonious opportunity, unless a passing thief restrains her felonious impulses. Felonious and the related felony come from the Old French felonie, "wickedness, treachery, or crime," from the Gallo-Roman fellonem, "evil-doer."
Vocabulary lists containing felonious
The Glass Castle
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Red Kayak
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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.
Or bulldoze it, removing what stands as nothing more than a symbol of felonious indifference.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2026
It may not have been felonious enough to demand civil punishment, but it certainly required banishment from the game and from any of its rewards.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2025
Their deaths amounted 5% of the 60 law enforcement officials who died that year because of felonious incidents.
From Seattle Times ● May 2, 2024
"We qualify such a felonious deed as a crime - as an act of dehumanisation," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Radio Sputnik.
From Reuters ● Oct. 18, 2023
It helps, though, to read with a felonious mind.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
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.
