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DictionarycriminalCrime
adjective / noun

criminal

KRIM-ih-nul/ˈkrɪmɪnl/

Involving acts forbidden by criminal law.

Stealing a wallet from someone's bag is a criminal act.

A pickpocket covertly steals a wallet from an older woman's shoulder bag, making the criminal identifiable through the visible theft rather than appearance or arrest.
Etymology
criminLatinaccusation, crime
+alLatinpertaining to

Crimen meant both an accusation and an offense. The adjective meaning “pertaining to crime” came to mean “guilty of crime,” then became a noun for the person who committed it.

In context

Crime Unveiled2:14
criminal who has been involved in organized crime for several decades kinahan began his criminal career as a drug dealer
The TERRIFYING Truth About The Notorious Kinahan Cartel

More examples

  • She faces criminal charges for forging the checks.
  • The police investigate reports of criminal activity downtown.
  • The witness helps police identify the criminal.

Forms

criminal · criminals

crime noun — An act punishable under criminal law.

criminally adverb — In a way that violates criminal law.

Similar words

illegal
Describes anything forbidden by law, not only criminal acts.
illicit
Often suggests forbidden or secret conduct, not necessarily a crime.