criminal

English Online Dictionary. What means criminal‎? What does criminal mean?

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK, US, General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɪm.ɪ.nəl/
• IPA^(key): /ˈkɹɪm.ə.nəl/

Adjective

criminal (comparative more criminal, superlative most criminal)

1. Against the law; forbidden by law.
2. Guilty of breaking the law.
3. Of or relating to crime or penal law.
4. (figuratively) Abhorrent or very undesirable.

Synonyms

• crimeful
• illegal
• delictuous

Derived terms

Related terms

Collocations

Translations

Noun

criminal (plural criminals)

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

   Synonyms: lawbreaker, offender, perpetrator

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:criminal

Hypernyms

• person

Derived terms

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin criminālis.

Pronunciation

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

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

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], 2007 April
• “criminal”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “criminal” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “criminal” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Galician

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɾimiˈnal/ [kɾi.mĩˈnɑɫ]
• Rhymes: -al

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, 2012–2025

Occitan

Alternative forms

• criminau (Gascony, Provençal)

Pronunciation

Adjective

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

1. criminal

Further reading

• Diccionari General de la Lenga Occitana, L’Academia occitana – Consistòri del Gai Saber, 2008-2024, 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

Portuguese

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• 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)

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “criminal”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Romanian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kri.miˈnal]

Noun

criminal m (plural criminali, feminine equivalent criminală)

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

Declension

Adjective

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

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

Declension

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), 2004–2025

Spanish

Etymology

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

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

Noun

criminal m or f by sense (plural criminales)

1. criminal

   Synonyms: penado, delincuente

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “criminal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10