1
as in criminal
a person who commits moral wrongs
she regards anyone who would cause the breakup of a family as a malefactor of the worst sort
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in offender
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
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of malefactor
In 2011, ahead of his reelection campaign, Barack Obama traveled to Osawatomie, Kan., to attack the malefactors of great wealth.
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Matthew Continetti, National Review, 19 Oct. 2024
Maybe the origin of Downey's Doom won't involve torture or an evil malefactor specifically out to ruin his life.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2024
Thriller about a reclusive middleman for potential whistleblowers who tries to settle things with corporate malefactors.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2024
Progressives may struggle even more with mercy toward moneyed malefactors.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for malefactor 
Matthew Continetti, National Review, 19 Oct. 2024
Maybe the origin of Downey's Doom won't involve torture or an evil malefactor specifically out to ruin his life.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2024
Thriller about a reclusive middleman for potential whistleblowers who tries to settle things with corporate malefactors.
—Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2024
Progressives may struggle even more with mercy toward moneyed malefactors.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for malefactor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malefactor
Noun
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Other potential responses focus on the perpetrators rather than the puppeteers, prosecuting the petty criminals who carry out acts of sabotage or, in the Baltic Sea, boarding and impounding the offending vessel, as Finland did recently, and following up with a court case.Tamar Jacoby, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
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In her petition, Conley wrote that deploying CHP officers and Solano County sheriff's deputies to Vallejo could help address crime, serve as a deterrent to potential criminals and provide support to an overworked police force.Louis Casiano, Fox News, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Along with beautification, local leaders say public art has the power to foster a sense of ownership among residents and let would-be wrongdoers know that an area is cared for.Justin L. Mack, Axios, 19 Dec. 2024
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According to Pelletier, the DOJ's approach often leaves individual corporate wrongdoers untouched, even when the DOJ says there's evidence of serious misconduct.Brian Mann, NPR, 13 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Also tossed in are picturesque but gratuitous use of famous tourist landmarks as background, near-superheroic training montages, credible intimate character dynamics, a ruthless villain (Johan Heldenbergh as Vanaken) and action that in the home stretch goes absurdly over-the-top.Dennis Harvey, Variety, 13 Jan. 2025
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And though Young and (especially) the perpetrators of the massacre are clearly the villains of the piece, their past history at least partly explains their choices.Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The sacrament of Confession in Catholicism is one way to get sins pardoned, releasing the sinner from eternal punishment.Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
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This work, for me, brought to mind Giovanni da Modena’s extraordinary early-fifteenth-century fresco in Bologna’s Basilica of San Petronio depicting the devil and his demons eating sinners in hell.Dean Kissick, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near malefactor
Cite this Entry
“Malefactor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malefactor. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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