criminal

English

Etymology

From Middle English cryminal, borrowed from Anglo-Norman criminal, from Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen (“crime”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, US, Australia) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɪm.ɪ.nəl/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɪm.ə.nəl/
• Hyphenation: crim‧i‧nal

Adjective

criminal (comparative more criminal, superlative most criminal)

1. Against the law; forbidden by law.

   Synonyms: crimeful, delictuous, illegal, illicit; see also Thesaurus:unlawful

   • 1711 March 30 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “MONDAY, March 19, 1710–1711”, in The Spectator, number 16; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:

     Foppish and fantastic ornaments are only indications of vice, not criminal in themselves.

     The spelling has been modernized.

2. Guilty of breaking the law.

   Synonyms: at fault, culpable; see also Thesaurus:guilty

   • a. 1729, John Rogers, The Difficulties of Obtaining Salvation:

     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.

   • 1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:

     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. (figuratively) Abhorrent or very undesirable.

   Synonyms: detestable, repugnant

   Printing such asinine opinions is criminal!

   • 2020 May 6, Graeme Pickering, “Borders Railway: time for the next step”, in Rail, page 54:

     [...] I think it represents exceptional value for money and I think it would be criminal not to go ahead and build it."

Derived terms

• age of criminal responsibility
• anticriminal
• archcriminal
• certificate of no criminal conviction
• criminal code
• criminal conversation
• criminaldom
• criminalese
• criminaless
• criminalisation
• criminalise
• criminalish
• criminalism
• criminalist
• criminalistic
• criminalistics
• criminality
• criminalization
• criminalize
• criminal law
• criminal lawyer
• criminally
• criminal negligence
• criminalness
• criminal offence
• criminal offense
• criminaloid
• criminal procedure
• criminal prosecution
• criminal prosecutor
• criminal psychologist
• criminal psychology
• criminal record
• criminal science
• criminal scientist
• criminal tool
• criminal tribe
• criminigger
• criminogenic
• criminology
• crimmigrant
• crimmigration
• District of Criminals
• medicocriminal
• noncriminal
• petty criminal
• pseudocriminal
• quasicriminal
• semicriminal
• subcriminal
• supercriminal
• uncriminal

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *krey- (0 c, 90 e)

Collocations

with nouns

• criminal law
• criminal justice
• criminal court
• criminal procedure
• criminal prosecution
• criminal intent
• criminal case
• criminal act
• criminal action
• criminal behavior
• criminal offenceliability
• criminal investigation
• criminal conduct
• criminal defense
• criminal trial
• criminal history
• criminal responsibility
• criminal lawyer
• criminal tribunal
• criminal appeal
• criminal process
• criminal background
• criminal mind
• criminal conspiracy
• criminal evidence
• criminal gang
• criminal organization
• criminal underworld
• criminal jurisprudence
• criminal offender
• criminal jury
• criminal police
• criminal past
• criminal group
• criminal punishment
• criminal attorney
• criminal violence
• criminal report
• criminal career
• criminal psychology

Translations

being against the law

Albanian: keqbërës (sq) Arabic: جِنَائِيّ (ar) (jināʔiyy), إِجْرَامِيّ (ʔijrāmiyy) Belarusian: злачы́нны (zlačýnny), крыміна́льны (kryminálʹny) Bengali: অপরাধমূলক (bn) (oporadhmulok) Bulgarian: престъ́пен (bg) (prestắpen), кримина́лен (bg) (kriminálen) Catalan: criminal (ca) Czech: zločinný, trestný (cs) Dutch: misdadig (nl), crimineel (nl), onwettig (nl) Finnish: rikollinen (fi), lainvastainen (fi), rangaistava French: criminel (fr) Galician: criminal (gl) Georgian: დანაშაულებრივი (današaulebrivi) German: kriminell (de) Greek: εγκληματικός (el) (egklimatikós), ποινικός (el) (poinikós) Ancient Greek: ἀθέμιτος (athémitos) Hungarian: bűnös (hu), törvénytelen (hu), törvénysértő (hu) Indonesian: melanggar hukum Italian: criminale (it) m or f Japanese: 犯罪的 (はんざいてき, hanzai-teki) Korean: 범죄적(犯罪的) (beomjoejeok) Latin: scelestus (la) Macedonian: злосторнички (zlostornički), кримина́лен (kriminálen), престапен (prestapen) Norman: crînminnel Norwegian: Bokmål: kriminell (no) Nynorsk: kriminell Persian: جزایی (jazâyi) Polish: przestępczy (pl), kryminalny (pl) Portuguese: criminoso (pt) Romanian: infracțional (ro), criminal (ro) Romansh: criminal Russian: престу́пный (ru) (prestúpnyj), кримина́льный (ru) (kriminálʹnyj), уголо́вный (ru) (ugolóvnyj) Sanskrit: अकृत्य (sa) (akṛtya) Scots: creeminal Scottish Gaelic: eucoireach Swahili: mhalifu (sw) Ukrainian: злочи́нний (zločýnnyj), криміна́льний (kryminálʹnyj) Uzbek: harakat (uz) Yiddish: קרימינעל (kriminel), פֿאַרברעכעריש (farbrekherish)

guilty of breaking the law

Catalan: criminal (ca) Dutch: misdadig (nl), crimineel (nl) Esperanto: krima Finnish: rikollinen (fi) French: criminel (fr) German: kriminell (de) Greek: εγκληματικός (el) (egklimatikós) Hungarian: bűnös (hu) Italian: criminale (it) Korean: 죄인 (罪人) (ko) (joein) Latin: scelestus (la) Macedonian: престапнички (prestapnički), злосторен (zlostoren) Norman: crînminnel Norwegian: Bokmål: kriminell (no) Nynorsk: kriminell Persian: مجرم (fa) (mojrem), گناهکار (fa) (gonâhkâr) Portuguese: culpado (pt) Romansh: criminal Scottish Gaelic: eucoireach Swahili: mhalifu (sw)

of or relating to crime

Armenian: please add this translation if you can Bengali: অপরাধমূলক (bn) (oporadhmulok) Bulgarian: кримина́лен (bg) (kriminálen) Catalan: criminal (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: please add this translation if you can Czech: zločinný m Dutch: misdadig (nl), crimineel (nl) Finnish: rikollinen (fi), rikosoikeudellinen (fi) French: criminel (fr) German: kriminell (de) Greek: εγκληματικός (el) (egklimatikós) Hebrew: פְּלִילִי (he) m (plilí) Hindi: आपराधिक (āprādhik) Hungarian: bűnügyi (hu), büntetőjogi (hu), bűnvádi (hu), büntető- (hu), kriminál- Indonesian: kriminal (id) Khmer: ខាងបទឧក្រិដ្ឋ (kʰaang bɑt okkrǝt) Lao: please add this translation if you can Macedonian: кримина́лен (kriminálen) Norman: crînminnel Norwegian: Bokmål: kriminell (no) Nynorsk: kriminell Persian: کیفری (fa) (keyfari), جزایی (jazâyi) Polish: kryminalny (pl) Portuguese: criminal (pt) Romansh: criminal Russian: кримина́льный (ru) (kriminálʹnyj), уголо́вный (ru) (ugolóvnyj) Scottish Gaelic: eucoireach Swahili: mhalifu (sw) Thai: อาชญากร (th) (àat-yaa-gɔɔn), Turkish: kriminel (tr) Urdu: فوجداری (faujdārī), مجرمانہ (mujrimāna) Uzbek: harakat (uz), jinoyat (uz) Vietnamese: tội phạm (vi), hình sự (vi) Volapük: krimik, midunik (vo) Welsh: troseddol (cy)

abhorrent or very undesirable

Dutch: misdadig (nl), crimineel (nl) Finnish: rikollinen (fi) (often with suorastaan) Greek: εγκληματικός (el) (egklimatikós) Hungarian: megengedhetetlen (hu), kriminális (hu), rettenetes (hu), szörnyű (hu), hajmeresztő (hu) Indonesian: bajingan (id) Swahili: mhalifu (sw)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Indonesian: (please verify) kriminal (id), (please verify) jahat (id) Interlingua: (please verify) criminal Italian: (please verify) criminale (it), (please verify) delittuoso Romanian: (please verify) criminal (ro) Spanish: (please verify) criminal (es)

Noun

criminal (plural criminals)

1. A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law.

   Synonyms: lawbreaker, offender, perpetrator, hoodlum, justice-impacted individual

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 3, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     ‘ […]  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—’

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:criminal

Hypernyms

• person

Derived terms

• arch-criminal
• criminal-like
• cybercriminal
• e-criminal

Compound words and expressions

• career criminal
• climate criminal
• criminal against humanity
• November criminal
• petty criminal
• thought criminal
• war criminal

Translations

person guilty of a crime, breaking the law

Afrikaans: kriminele Albanian: kriminel (sq) m, kriminele (sq) f Altai: Southern Altai: каршучыл (karšučïl), каршулу керек эткен кижи (karšulu kerek etken kiži) Arabic: مُجْرِم (ar) m (mujrim), مُجْرِمَة f (mujrima) Armenian: հանցագործ (hy) (hancʻagorc) Assamese: অপৰাধী (opradhi) Azerbaijani: cinayətkar (az) Bashkir: енәйәтсе (yenäyätse) Basque: gaizkile Belarusian: злачы́нец m (zlačýnjec), злачы́нка f (zlačýnka) Bengali: অপরাধী (bn) (opradhi) Bulgarian: престъ́пник (bg) m (prestắpnik), престъ́пница f (prestắpnica), престъ́пничка f (prestắpnička) Burmese: ရာဇဝတ်ကောင် (my) (raja.watkaung), တရားခံ (my) (ta.ra:hkam) Catalan: criminal (ca) m or f Chinese: Cantonese: 罪犯 (zeoi6 faan6-2), 犯人 (faan6 jan4) Mandarin: 罪犯 (zh) (zuìfàn), 犯人 (zh) (fànrén), 犯罪分子 (fànzuì fènzǐ) (especially one in custody) Czech: zločinec (cs) m, zločinka f Danish: kriminel (da) c, forbryder (da) c Dutch: misdadiger (nl) m, crimineel (nl) m, delinquent (nl) m Esperanto: krimulo Estonian: kurjategija, roimar Finnish: rikollinen (fi), lainsuojaton (fi), kriminaali (fi) French: criminel (fr) m, criminelle (fr) f Georgian: დამნაშავე (damnašave) German: Krimineller (de) m, Kriminelle (de) f, Verbrecher (de) m, Verbrecherin (de) f, Übeltäter (de) m, Übeltäterin (de) f, Missetäter (de) m, Missetäterin (de) f Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌴𐌳𐌾𐌰 m (waidēdja) Greek: εγκληματίας (el) m or f (egklimatías) Gujarati: ગુનેગાર (gunegār) Hebrew: עֲבַרְיָן (he) m ('avaryán) Hindi: अपराधी (hi) m (aprādhī), दोषी (hi) m (doṣī), मुजरिम (hi) m (mujrim) Hungarian: bűnöző (hu), bűnelkövető (hu) Icelandic: glæpamaður (is) m Indonesian: kriminal (id), penjahat (id), bajingan (id) (pejorative) Interlingua: criminal Irish: coirpeach m Italian: criminale (it) m or f Japanese: 犯罪者 (ja) (はんざいしゃ, hanzaisha), 犯人 (ja) (はんにん, hannin), 犯罪人 (はんざいにん, hanzainin) Kazakh: қылмыскер (qılmısker) Khmer: ឧក្រិដ្ឋជន (ʼokkrətthaʼcŭən) Korean: 범죄자(犯罪者) (ko) (beomjoeja), 범인(犯人) (ko) (beomin), 범죄인(犯罪人) (ko) (beomjoein) Kumyk: жинаятчы (jinayatçı) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: tawanbar (ku), tawankar (ku), gunehkar (ku) Kyrgyz: кылмышкер (ky) (kılmışker) Lao: ຜູ້ຮ້າຽ (phū hāi), ຄົນຮ້າຽ (khon hāi) Latin: scelestus (la) m, scelus (la) m Latvian: noziedznieks m, noziedzniece f Lithuanian: nusikaltėlis m, nusikaltėlė f Macedonian: злосторник m (zlostornik), злосторница f (zlostornica), престапник m (prestapnik), престапничка f (prestapnička), кримина́лец m (kriminálec), кримина́лка f (kriminálka) Marathi: गुन्हेगार m (gunhegār) Mongolian: Cyrillic: гэмт хэрэгтэн (gemt xeregten), хэрэгтэн (mn) (xeregten), гэмт (mn) (gemt), гэмтэн (mn) (gemten) Norwegian: Bokmål: kriminell (no), forbryter (no) m Nynorsk: forbrytar m Old English: wearg Pannonian Rusyn: злодїєц m (zlodjijec), криминалєц m (kriminaljec) Pashto: جنايتکار (ps) m (jenāyatkār), مجرم m (mojrem) Persian: Iranian Persian: بِزِهْکار (bezehkâr), جِنایَتْکار (jenâyatkâr), مُجْرِم (mojrem), گُناهْکار (gonâhkâr) Plautdietsch: Vebräakja m Polish: kryminalista (pl) m, kryminalistka (pl) f, przestępca (pl) m, przestępczyni (pl) f, zbrodniarz (pl) m, zbrodniarka f Portuguese: criminoso (pt) m, criminosa (pt) f Romanian: infractor (ro) m, infractoare (ro) f Russian: престу́пник (ru) m (prestúpnik), престу́пница (ru) f (prestúpnica), правонаруши́тель (ru) m (pravonarušítelʹ), правонаруши́тельница (ru) f (pravonarušítelʹnica) Scottish Gaelic: eucoireach m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: зло̀чинац m, зло̀чӣнка m, кримина́лац m, кримѝна̄лка f Latin: zlòčinac (sh) m, zlòčīnka (sh) f, kriminálac (sh) m, krimìnālka (sh) f Slovak: zločinec m, zločinka f, kriminálnik m, kriminálnička f Slovene: kriminálec m, kriminalka f, zločinec (sl) m, zločinka f Sorbian: Upper Sorbian: złóstnik m, złóstnica f Spanish: criminal (es) Swahili: mhalifu (sw) class 1/2 Swedish: brottsling (sv) c, förbrytare (sv) c Tajik: ҷинояткор (jinoyatkor), гунаҳкор (gunahkor), муҷрим (mujrim) Tamil: குற்றவாளி (ta) (kuṟṟavāḷi) Tatar: җинаятьче (tt) (cinayätçe) Thai: ผู้ร้าย (pûu-ráai), คนร้าย (kon-ráai) Turkish: suçlu (tr), kriminel (tr) Turkmen: jenaýatkär (tk), jenaýatcy, jenaýatly (tk) Ukrainian: злочи́нець m (zločýnecʹ), злочи́нниця f (zločýnnycja) Urdu: مُجرِم m (mujrim), گُناہ گار m (gunāh gār), پاپی m (pāpī), اَپْرادِھی (ur) m (aprādhī) Uyghur: جىنايەتچى (jinayetchi) Uzbek: jinoyatchi (uz) Vietnamese: tội phạm (vi) (罪犯) Volapük: (♂♀) kriman, (♂) hikriman, (♀) jikriman, (♂♀) midunan (vo), (♂) himidunan, (♀) jimidunan Welsh: troseddwr (cy) m Yiddish: פֿאַרברעכער m (farbrekher)

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin criminālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central, Valencia, Northwestern) [kɾi.miˈnal]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

criminal m or f (masculine and feminine plural criminals)

1. criminal (against the law)
2. criminal (guilty of breaking the law)
3. criminal (of or relating to crime)

Derived terms

• criminalista
• criminalitat
• criminalitzar
• criminalment

Noun

criminal m or f by sense (plural criminals)

1. criminal (a person who is guilty of a crime)

Related terms

• crim

Further reading

• “criminal”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “criminal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “criminal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “criminal”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Chavacano

Etymology

Inherited from Spanish criminal (“criminal”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: cri‧mi‧nal

Noun

criminal

1. criminal

Galician

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin or Juridical Latin criminālis (“criminal”), from Latin crīmen (“verdict; crime”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɾimiˈnal/ [kɾi.mĩˈnɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: cri‧mi‧nal

Adjective

criminal m or f (plural criminais)

1. criminal (that constitutes a crime)

   Synonym: criminoso

2. criminal (relating or pertaining to crimes)

   Synonym: criminoso

3. (colloquial) that can be very bad in its class or that can be harmful

Noun

criminal m or f by sense (plural criminais)

1. criminal (a person who has committed a crime)

   Synonym: asasino

Further reading

• “criminal”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• “criminal”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026

Occitan

Alternative forms

• criminau (Gascony, Provençal)

Pronunciation

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

Adjective

criminal m (feminine singular criminala, masculine plural criminals, feminine plural criminalas) (Languedoc)

1. criminal

Further reading

• Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana‎^[1], L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2026, page 206

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin or Juridical Latin criminālis, from Latin crīmen.

Adjective

criminal m (oblique and nominative feminine singular criminale)

1. criminal; illegal; against the law

Declension

	Case	masculine	feminine	neuter
singular	subject	criminals or criminaus	criminale	criminal
oblique	criminal	criminale	criminal
plural	subject	criminal	criminales	criminal
oblique	criminals or criminaus	criminales	criminal

Descendants

• French: criminel
  • → Danish: kriminel
  • → Romanian: criminal
  • → Swedish: kriminell
  • → Turkish: kriminel
• → Middle English: cryminal, cremynall, criminall, crimynal, crymynall
  • English: criminal
  • Scots: creeminal

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin or Juridical Latin criminālis (“criminal”), from Latin crīmen (“verdict; crime”).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /kɾi.miˈnaw/ [kɾi.miˈnaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɾi.miˈnal/ [kɾi.miˈnaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɾi.miˈnal/ [kɾi.miˈnaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /kɾi.miˈna.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
• Hyphenation: cri‧mi‧nal

Adjective

criminal m or f (plural criminais, not comparable)

1. (law) criminal (of or relating to crime or penal law)

   Antecedente criminal.

   Criminal record.

Derived terms

• criminalidade
• criminalismo
• criminalista
• criminalizar
• criminalmente

Related terms

• crime
• criminação
• criminado
• criminador
• criminalística
• criminalístico
• criminalizável
• criminar
• criminologia
• criminológico
• criminologista
• criminólogo
• criminoso

Further reading

• “criminal”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “criminal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Alternative forms

• криминал (criminal) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling

Etymology

Borrowed from French criminel, Late Latin criminalis, from Latin crimen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kri.miˈnal/
• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: cri‧mi‧nal

Noun

criminal m (plural criminali, feminine equivalent criminală)

1. criminal, felon, perpetrator, offender, lawbreaker
2. murderer, slayer
3. cutthroat, thug

Declension

	singular	plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	criminal	criminalul	criminali	criminalii
genitive-dative	criminal	criminalului	criminali	criminalilor
vocative	criminalule	criminalilor

Adjective

criminal m or n (feminine singular criminală, masculine plural criminali, feminine/neuter plural criminale)

1. criminal, felonious, lawbreaking
2. murderous, homicidal
3. cutthroat

Declension

Declension of criminal

	singular	plural
	masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	criminal	criminală	criminali	criminale
definite	criminalul	criminala	criminalii	criminalele
genitive- dative	indefinite	criminal	criminale	criminali	criminale
definite	criminalului	criminalei	criminalilor	criminalelor

Related terms

• criminalitate

Adverb

criminal

1. criminally

Related terms

• crimă

Further reading

• “criminal”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *krey-

Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥

Proto-Indo-European *kréymn̥

Proto-Italic *kreimən

Latin crīmen

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālis

Late Latin criminālisbor.

Spanish criminal

Borrowed from Late Latin criminālis (“criminal”), from Latin crīmen + -ālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɾimiˈnal/ [kɾi.miˈnal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: cri‧mi‧nal

Adjective

criminal m or f (masculine and feminine plural criminales)

1. criminal

   Synonym: criminoso

Derived terms

• criminalista
• criminalizar
• criminalmente

Noun

criminal m or f by sense (plural criminales)

1. criminal

   Synonyms: penado, delincuente

Derived terms

• criminal de guerra

Related terms

• acriminar
• crimen
• criminalidad

Further reading

• “criminal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025