CRIMINALS Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

criminals

noun

plural of criminal

as in offenders

a person who has committed a crime car thieves, pickpockets, burglars, and other criminals

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of criminals That same month, criminals nabbed a $4 million diamond necklace from Vienna’s Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). — Lianne Kolirin, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026 For decades, Hollywood actor Danny Trejo’s bread and butter was playing gangsters, prison inmates and other assorted criminals. — Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 15 Oct. 2026 After a career spent playing convicts and criminals, the opportunity was appealing to Trejo. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 15 Oct. 2026 A lot of times effective policing just moves criminals elsewhere. — Nilay Patel, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026 The idea that criminals could serve sentences behind bars was a more progressive approach to justice in comparison. — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026 Then criminals allegedly obtain a massive collection of data anyway. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026 In recent years, SNAP has become a fraud magnet for criminals who view both the nation's poorest Americans and the government program's outdated technology as easy to exploit. — Juliana Kim, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026 Let’s hope all these flock cameras that @karenbassla @gavinnewsom and everyone thinks will stop crime can find these very dangerous criminals. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for criminals

offenders

Noun

Research on offenders with mental disorders suggests that recidivism depends more on criminal history than on diagnosis.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
At the root of the crisis is inadequate laws to punish offenders and a poor judicial system, activists say.

— ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026