malefactors

noun

plural of malefactor
1
as in criminals
a person who commits moral wrongs she regards anyone who would cause the breakup of a family as a malefactor of the worst sort

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2
as in offenders
a person who has committed a crime the victim was able to give a clear description of the malefactor to the police

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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 malefactors Once a small-time robber, Pepper is now crumbling from advanced age and damage inflicted by many malefactors, including Pepper himself. — David Hajdu, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026 To be confronted by Mike Wallace was the deepest dread of countless malefactors in public and corporate life. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 June 2026 Electronic medical records were once touted as secure, but whole hospital systems have been taken down and held for ransom by malefactors. — Cory Franklin, Twin Cities, 23 Nov. 2025 The Sea of Excrement, with its bobbing malefactors, is especially memorable. — New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malefactors
  1. criminals
  2. offenders
  3. wrongdoers
  4. sinners
  5. villains
Noun
  • Also protect the email account associated with your Social Security profile because criminals may target it to reset other passwords.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Ford placed the inmate’s bid for clemency on the agenda of the state pardons board — an example, Lombardo claims, of the way Ford treats criminals.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminals
Noun
  • His lacerating wit spares no member of his staff—a mix of true incompetents, off-putting savants, ticking time bombs, and onetime offenders prematurely consigned to professional purgatory.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Penalties increase if offenders cover their faces or someone is injured.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of offenders
Noun
  • There’s no major wreckage here, nor is comeuppance meted out to the wrongdoers.
    — Natalia Winkelman, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
  • The Native community had its own ways of punishing wrongdoers, but Stevens’ role was to protect her client’s constitutional rights.
    — Mackenzie Farkus, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrongdoers
Noun
  • On one page, tiny, antlike sinners tumbled down a cliff toward perdition.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • That relationship was based on sinners confessing their sins to this vicar.
    — Pat Saperstein, Variety, 14 June 2026
Definition of sinners
Noun
  • Directed by Grammy Award-winning filmmaker James Mackel, the visual is three-and-a-half minutes of spy stuff, our hero, dressed to impress, making short work of the many villains who lurk in her hotel.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2026
  • One of Batman’s creepiest villains is descending upon the box office this weekend.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of villains

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malefactors
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Cite this Entry

“Malefactors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malefactors. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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