malefactor

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈmælɪˌfæktə/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈmæləˌfæktɚ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(mal′ə fak′tər)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
mal•e•fac•tor /ˈmæləˌfæktɚ/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. a criminal.
  2. a person who does evil.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
mal•e•fac•tor  (mal′ə fak′tər),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a person who violates the law;
    criminal.
  2. a person who does harm or evil, esp. toward another.
  • Latin malefactor, equivalent. to malefac(ere) to act wickedly, do an evil deed (see male-, fact) + -tor -tor
  • late Middle English malefactour 1400–50
    • 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged felon, culprit.
    • 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged benefactor.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
malefactor / ˈmælɪˌfæktə/
  1. a criminal; wrongdoer
Etymology: 15th Century: via Old French from Latin, from malefacere to do evilˈmaleˌfaction
'malefactor' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
criminal - scathe

Forum discussions with the word(s) "malefactor" in the title:


Look up "malefactor" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "malefactor" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!

Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.