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# complainant

noun (a complainant, complainants)

«complainant» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (law) A complainant is a person who makes an official complaint or brings a case to a court, saying they have been wronged. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/#m1)
2. (formal) Anyone who makes a formal complaint, for example to a company or school. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/#m2)

### In the lessons

A formal, legal word met in news about trials and complaints. It tells the reader who says they were harmed. Phrases: «the complainant said», «the complainant's lawyer».

### Examples

- The complainant told the court what had happened. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/#x1)
- The judge listened to both the complainant and the accused. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/#x2)
- The complainant asked for the money to be returned. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/#x3)
- The company wrote back to each complainant. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/#x4)
- In the case, the complainant was a shop owner. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/#x5)
- The complainant's name was kept secret. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/#x6)

### Note

Formal; in daily speech say «the person who complained». Not the same as «complaint» (what is said) or «complainer» (someone who moans a lot, informal). The other side in a criminal case is «the defendant» or «the accused».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «complainant» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/complainant/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«complainant» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/complainant.html) on Mova free.