criminal
English meaning: Criminal
Definition
A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law.
Example
“Police arrested the criminal after a long investigation.”
Another example: “It's almost criminal how much they charge for a cup of coffee.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A noun and adjective. As a noun: a person who has broken the law ('a convicted criminal'). As an adjective: relating to crime or the law dealing with it ('criminal record', 'criminal law'), or informally meaning scandalous ('it's criminal'). Neutral to formal register.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Late Latin 'criminalis', from Latin 'crimen' ('charge, offence, crime'), from the 15th century.
Synonyms
Antonyms / Opposites
- victim
- law-abider
Related Words
Common Collocations
- criminal record
- convicted criminal
- criminal law
- criminal justice
- hardened criminal
- criminal activity
Word Forms
criminal (n); criminals (pl); criminal (adj); crime (n); criminally (adv)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B