offender

noun

USuh-FEN-der/əˈfɛndɚ/uh-FEN-duh/əˈfɛndə/

Pluraloffenders

2 meanings of offender

1
nouncountable
A person who breaks the law and can be punished for it.
Like a player who breaks the rules of a game and gets a penalty.
The judge gave the young offender a second chance.
Repeat offenders often face longer sentences.
Similarcriminal, lawbreaker, wrongdoer
2
nouncountable
A person who upsets others or does something wrong.
Like the one kid everyone blames for making a mess.
Someone broke the vase, and the offender quietly owned up.
Among the noisy kids, the main offender was sent outside.
Similarculprit, wrongdoer

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Origin

From Middle English offendour, made from the word offend plus -er.