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# criminal

noun (a criminal, criminals); adjective (criminal)

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

## Everyday

1. (noun) A person who has broken the law and done a crime. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#m1)
2. (adjective) To do with crime or with the law about crime (a criminal act, criminal law). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#m2)
3. (adjective, informal) Very wrong, wasteful or unfair: «It's criminal to waste all that food.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#m3)

### In the lessons

In civics, stories, history and safety (police catch criminals). In everyday speech, «criminal» also means shockingly bad or wasteful. Phrases: «a criminal record», «criminal offence», «a dangerous criminal», «criminal damage».

### Examples

- The police caught the criminal. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#x1)
- Stealing is a criminal act. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#x2)
- He has no criminal record. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#x3)
- It's criminal to throw away good food! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#x4)
- The detective tracked down the criminals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#x5)
- Spraying graffiti on walls is criminal damage. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#x6)
- The hardened criminal casts an impatient look at the bright ray. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/criminal/#x7)

### Note

Countable noun. Related: «crime», «criminally». In maths, crime figures are often compared (falls of a percentage). Being suspected is not the same as being a criminal — a person is innocent until proven guilty.

## On Mova

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