1
as in criminal
a person who commits moral wrongs she regards anyone who would cause the breakup of a family as a malefactor of the worst sort
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in offender
a person who has committed a crime the victim was able to give a clear description of the malefactor to the police
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 malefactor On social media, Tan was pugilistic to the point of belligerence, casting his political enemies as corrupt malefactors responsible for the despoliation of his beloved city. —
Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025 Some malefactors even hire out farms of humans to defeat them in bulk. CAPTCHAs also have unexpected benefits for those who run them. —ArsTechnica, 28 July 2025 Its victims, malefactors, and investigators are largely without personality, their function being merely to leave or follow trails, and to wear out a reader with anticlimax after anticlimax. —Thomas Mallon, New Yorker, 30 June 2025 Either way, The Lowdown finds Harjo dipping into pleasantly familiar reservoirs of fiction in which the protagonists know how to take a constant beating, the malefactors are all suspiciously verbose and ostentatious hats abound. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for malefactor
Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025 Some malefactors even hire out farms of humans to defeat them in bulk. CAPTCHAs also have unexpected benefits for those who run them. —ArsTechnica, 28 July 2025 Its victims, malefactors, and investigators are largely without personality, their function being merely to leave or follow trails, and to wear out a reader with anticlimax after anticlimax. —Thomas Mallon, New Yorker, 30 June 2025 Either way, The Lowdown finds Harjo dipping into pleasantly familiar reservoirs of fiction in which the protagonists know how to take a constant beating, the malefactors are all suspiciously verbose and ostentatious hats abound. —Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019 See All Example Sentences for malefactor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malefactor
Noun
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Many of the toughest criminals taken into ICE custody were already in prison, but many others who were arrested have no criminal history.— ABC News, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2026
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In the furthest part of space lies Dante 01, a detention facility that houses criminals who have committed the most shocking crimes imaginable.— Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 25 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Court records show Abugharbieh entered into a diversion program for first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors.— Holly Ramer, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2026
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Per the alert, surveillance footage showed that in each of the incidents, one offender gained access by breaking into several vehicle windows and then proceeding to remove valuable items inside the cars.— Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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But critics of this effort say this internal mechanism fails to provide meaningful accountability and would protect wrongdoers from any future state bar investigation.— Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 25 Apr. 2026
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Anderson frames his argument largely in relation to the thought of thirteenth-century theologian Thomas Aquinas, who argued that Christians are generally obliged to directly confront someone who is behaving wrongly, and to do it in private to preserve the wrongdoer’s reputation.— Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 26 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Far too pure for the sinners who run this godless theocracy.— Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
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Several verses emphasize that two or more people should work together to help, restore or confront a sinner, focusing on restoration through witnesses, gentle guidance and shared strength.— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In its earlier days, The Boys might have done something with how Nanjiani’s Eternals and Rogen’s The Green Hornet both underperformed, and the Kick-Ass movies in which Mintz-Plasse played a villain left little cultural footprint.— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 29 Apr. 2026
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Most of his videos, filmed in a local studio or sometimes on the streets of Charlotte, are high-quality shorts showing him in throes of battle with classic villains like Killer Croc or Bane.— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Malefactor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/malefactor. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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