criminal
adjectivenouncommon in dialogue
- Australia//ˈkɹɪm.ɪ.nəl//
- //ˈkɹɪm.ə.nəl//
Against the law; forbidden by law.
adjective
- 1
Against the law; forbidden by law.
Foppish and fantastic ornaments are only indications of vice, not criminal in themselves.
- 2
Guilty of breaking the law.
The neglect of any of the relative duties renders us criminal in the sight of God.
- 3
Of or relating to crime or penal law.
His long criminal record suggests that he is a dangerous man.
The officers and servants of the crown, violating the personal liberty, or other right of the subject […] in some cases, were liable to criminal process.
- 4
figurativeAbhorrent or very undesirable.
Printing such asinine opinions is criminal!
[...] I think it represents exceptional value for money and I think it would be criminal not to go ahead and build it."
Etymology
From Middle English cryminal, borrowed from Anglo-Norman criminal, from Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen (“crime”).
noun
- 1
A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law.
‘[…] There's every Staffordshire crime-piece ever made in this cabinet, and that's unique. The Van Hoyer Museum in New York hasn't that very rare second version of Maria Marten's Red Barn over there, nor the little Frederick George Manning—he was the criminal Dickens saw hanged on the roof of the gaol in Horsemonger Lane, by the way—’
Forms
- plural
- criminals
- comparative
- more criminal
- superlative
- most criminal