as in illegal
contrary to or forbidden by law
people should know with certainty that criminal behavior will be punished
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in offender
a person who has committed a crime
car thieves, pickpockets, burglars, and other criminals
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples of criminal in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 24 July 2024
Prosecutors said Gordon had a criminal history and was on parole for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon at the time of Yahaira’s killing.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 24 July 2024
W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 23 July 2024
Another criminal, George Howard, 48, also reaped the benefits of the funds.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for criminal 
Adjective
The genre-bender, about a two-bit criminal loser who stumbles upon his superpowers and learns to care about humanity, became Italy’s 2016 sleeper hit, pulling in 1 million admissions locally before launching from dozens of festivals and selling widely around the world.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 24 July 2024
Prosecutors said Gordon had a criminal history and was on parole for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon at the time of Yahaira’s killing.
—Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 24 July 2024
Noun
Harris promoted a controversial bail fund that wound up freeing violent criminals.
—W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 23 July 2024
Another criminal, George Howard, 48, also reaped the benefits of the funds.
—Stepheny Price, Fox News, 23 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for criminal
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'criminal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Thesaurus Entries Near criminal
Cite this Entry
“Criminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/criminal. Accessed 3 Aug. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share