criminal
Definitions
A person who has committed a crime
罪犯
Relating to crime or its punishment
犯罪的；刑事的
Morally wrong; shameful (informal)
（非正式）该死的，太不像话的
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedcrimin (crime, charge) + -al (relating to). Built on the crimin- stem of crīmen. As an adjective it means 'relating to crime' (criminal law); as a noun it means 'the person of/charged with crime.'
Root crim still carries 26 more wordsUsage Guide
- Legal (formal): criminal law, criminal record, criminal court — the technical 'pertaining to crime' sense.
- Person (neutral): a convicted criminal.
- Intensifier (informal): 'It's criminal how much they charge' — means outrageous, not literally illegal.
Example Sentences
- 1.
The criminal was sentenced to ten years in prison.
- 2.
He was refused the job because of his criminal record.
Easily Confused
criminal vs guilty — criminal describes a person/category (a criminal, criminal law). guilty describes the verdict on a specific charge (found guilty). You can be a known criminal yet be found not guilty in one particular case.