malefactor

[ mal-uh-fak-ter ]

noun

1. a person who violates the law; criminal.

   Synonyms: culprit, felon

2. a person who does harm or evil, especially toward another.

   Antonyms: benefactor

malefactor

/ ˈmælɪˌfæktə /

noun

1. a criminal; wrongdoer

Derived Forms

• ˈmaleˌfactress, noun:feminine
• ˈmaleˌfaction, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of malefactor¹

1400–50; late Middle English malefactour < Latin malefactor, equivalent to malefac ( ere ) to act wickedly, do an evil deed ( male-, fact ) + -tor -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of malefactor¹

C15: via Old French from Latin, from malefacere to do evil

Example Sentences

Both the failed hired kidnapper and unlikely rescuer of Juno Temple’s protagonist Dot, the centuries-old sin eater pursues his own peculiar morality, burning malefactors’ eyeballs and demanding pancakes along the way.

From Los Angeles Times

By the spring of 1348, rumors were circulating that malefactors were deliberately causing the plague by poisoning wells.

From Scientific American

Chasing malefactors is how Melanie tries to outrun her past, but the job only bridges the distance, until she is forced to confront her own brokenness.

From Los Angeles Times

Superb casting makes "The Fallen Sun" watchable, and Serkis' villain matches and in some ways exceeds the series' most extreme malefactors and their capacity to make a person's skin crawl.

From Salon

Presumably China, Russia and Iran, but no specific malefactors were mentioned.

From Salon