malefactor

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈmæl.əˌfæk.tɚ/ UK /ˈmæl.ɪˌfæk.tə/ See IPA manual

Freq #131009

Meanings

1

noun
a person who commits a crime or other wrongful act; a criminal or evildoer

The guard searched every carriage for the malefactor who had escaped from custody.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who commits a... criminal offenderwrongdoerevildoer

Opposites

benefactorlaw-abiding citizen

Word family

Forms malefactors

Derived forms malefactress

Related forms maleficentmalfeasance benefactor

Etymology

From Middle English malefactour, from Late Latin malefactor ("evildoer"), built from Latin male ("badly, wickedly") + factor ("doer, maker"), from facere ("to do, make"). It is structurally opposed to benefactor, a person who does good.

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

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