criminal

Pluralcriminals

1. 1
   crime lawadjective

   Relating to crime or to the branch of law that deals with it.

   He specializes in criminal law rather than corporate cases.

   The criminal justice system handles cases differently from civil courts.

   UsageUsually before a noun: criminal law, a criminal record, the criminal justice system.

   Similarpenal

   Oppositecivil

   Note

   It sorts things into the domain of crime and penal law, as opposed to civil law, and passes no judgment on anyone. A criminal lawyer practices criminal law; the phrase says nothing about the lawyer's conduct. That neutrality separates it from the "guilty" meaning, which accuses.

2. 2
   offendernouncountable

   A person who is guilty of a crime, especially one who breaks the law.

   The court sentenced the convicted criminal to ten years in prison.

   Hardened criminals were transferred to a maximum-security facility.

   Similaroffender, lawbreaker, perpetrator

3. 3
   illegal actadjective

   Forbidden by law and punishable as a crime.

   Knowingly selling stolen goods is criminal, even if the seller did not steal them.

   The new statute made certain financial transactions criminal.

   UsageOften follows a verb: an act is criminal, a law makes it criminal. In criminal law or a criminal court, it means relating to crime.

   Similarillegal, unlawful, illicit

   Oppositelegal, lawful, legitimate

4. 4
   adjective

   Guilty of breaking the law; having committed a crime.

   The organization was deemed criminal after years of fraud.

   The investigation exposed a criminal network of officials who had been taking bribes for years.

   UsageDescribes people or groups: a criminal gang, a criminal network. A criminal court, by contrast, deals with crime and is not guilty of it.

   Similarguilty, lawbreaking, crooked

   Oppositelaw-abiding, innocent

   Note

   Here the guilt belongs to a person or a body rather than to an act. Older English stretched it beyond the courts. John Rogers, writing before 1729, says that neglecting one's duties "renders us criminal in the sight of God," which is a verdict of conscience, not law.

5. 5
   shamefuladjectivefiguratively

   Outrageously bad or undesirable, condemned as though it were an actual crime.

   Letting such talent go unused is simply criminal.

   The prices they charge for bottled water at the airport are criminal.

   UsageStrong, exaggerated opinion. Common patterns: it's criminal to waste it, it would be criminal not to try, a criminal waste.

   Similarscandalous, outrageous, shameful, deplorable, disgraceful

   Note

   Hyperbole borrowed from the courtroom: calling something criminal condemns it as if it broke a law. One favorite construction turns the condemnation into praise. A 2020 article in Rail on the Borders Railway reports the verdict that "it would be criminal not to go ahead and build it." Waste, overpricing and missed chances are typical targets, and the word carries the heat of opinion, often with an exclamation mark. Source

   Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • A 2020 Rail article about the Borders Railway contains the quoted verdict. Wiktionary identifies it as Graeme Pickering’s “Borders Railway: time for the next step”, dated 6 May 2020, page 54. en.wiktionary.org

   With seats this cheap, it would be criminal not to go.

   It's criminal to leave a voice like hers in the back row of the choir!

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