CRIMINAL • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Criminal

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/krˈɪmənəl/ Listen

adjective

Criminal adj.

Guilty of crime or sin. "The neglect of any of the relative duties renders us criminal in the sight of God."

Involving a crime; of the nature of a crime; said of an act or of conduct; as, criminal carelessness. "Foppish and fantastic ornaments are only indications of vice, not criminal in themselves."

Relating to crime; opposed to civil; as, the criminal code. "The officers and servants of the crown, violating the personal liberty, or other right of the subject... were in some cases liable to criminal process."

Criminal action (Law), an action or suit instituted to secure conviction and punishment for a crime.

Criminal conversation (Law), unlawful intercourse with a married woman; adultery; usually abbreviated, crim. con.

Criminal law, the law which relates to crimes.

noun

Criminal n. One who has commited a crime; especially, one who is found guilty by verdict, confession, or proof; a malefactor; a felon.

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Etymology of 'Criminal'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Criminal" Quotes from Famous Books

... with a puzzled frown. "What a queer way to look at it. Le Drieux has already been bribed, by a liberal reward, to run down a supposed criminal. If we bribe him with a larger sum to give up the pursuit of Jones, whom we believe innocent, we are merely defending ourselves from a possible injustice which may be brought about by an ...

— Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West • Edith Van Dyne

... the time search for the wrecked alien ships had succeeded and the first intact ship found, used, duplicated, the Agents had come from forays into the past to be trained anew for travel to the stars. First there had been Ross Murdock, criminal. Then there had been Ross Murdock and Gordon Ashe, Time Agents. Now there was still Ross and Gordon and a quest as perilous as any they had known. Yet this time they had to depend upon Karara and ...

— Key Out of Time • Andre Alice Norton

... was a robbery of no great importance, but Nick had taken it to oblige a personal friend, who wished to have the business managed quietly. This affair would not be worth mentioning, except that it led Nick to one of the most peculiar and interesting criminal puzzles that he had ever come across in all his ...

— The Crime of the French Cafe and Other Stories • Nicholas Carter

... universal suffering that it covers. And to tell the truth, it is man, the hypocritical and cunning biped who has the least share in it. Maupassant is helpful to all those of his fellows who are tortured by physical suffering, social cruelty and the criminal dangers of life, but he pities them without caring for them, and ...

— Une Vie, A Piece of String and Other Stories • Guy de Maupassant

... productive and informative. Before we begin, I will outline the rules of the debate and of the conference, which were agreed upon before the military action of the recent past," here he looked at Wagner with the look of a judge who supposes himself morally superior to the criminal in his holding, "And by which we will still govern the council, despite the sudden change in circumstances. The rules are as follows: The decision shall be made by the votes of the three parties involved, ...

— The Revolutions of Time • Jonathan Dunn

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