criminal meaning
criminal :
related to crime, illegal
adjective
▪ The criminal act was reported to the police.
▪ The illegal act was reported to the police.
▪ Criminal behavior is not allowed.
▪ Illegal behavior is not allowed.
paraphrasing
▪ illegal – not allowed by law
▪ unlawful – against the law
▪ felonious – related to a serious crime
▪ illicit – not legally permitted
criminal :
a person who commits a crime
noun
▪ The criminal was caught by the police.
▪ The person who did the crime was caught by the police.
▪ She believes the criminal should be punished.
▪ She thinks the person who did the crime should be punished.
paraphrasing
▪ offender – someone who breaks the law
▪ felon – a person guilty of a serious crime
▪ lawbreaker – someone who does not follow the law
▪ wrongdoer – a person who does bad things
Pronunciation
criminal [ˈkrɪm.ɪ.nəl]
The stress is on 'cri' and sounds like 'krim-i-nuhl'.
Common phrases and grammar about criminal
criminal - Common meaning
adjective
related to crime, illegal
noun
a person who commits a crime
Part of Speech Changes for "criminal"
▪ criminality (noun) – the state of being criminal
▪ criminalize (verb) – to make something illegal
▪ criminology (noun) – the study of crime
▪ criminally (adverb) – in a criminal way
Common Expressions with "criminal"
▪ criminal charges – accusations of crime
▪ criminal justice – the system of law enforcement
▪ criminal record – a history of crimes committed
▪ criminal offense – an act against the law
Important examples of criminal in TOEIC
Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test
In TOEIC vocabulary questions, criminal is often used to describe illegal activities or people.
Example of a confusing word: civil (relating to citizens)
Grammar examples from the TOEIC test
Criminal is used as both an adjective and a noun, often showing up in questions about law or illegal actions.
criminal
Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC
criminal law
'law related to crime', used in legal contexts.
a criminal mind
means 'a mindset inclined towards crime'.
Differences between similar words and criminal
criminal
,
offender
differences
Criminal refers to someone who has committed a crime, while offender is more general, including minor offenses.
criminal
,
felon
differences
Criminal can refer to any crime, while felon is specific to serious crimes.
Words with the same origin as criminal
The origin of criminal
criminal comes from the Latin 'criminalis', which means 'pertaining to crime'.
Word structure
It has the root crimin (crime) and suffix al (related to), meaning 'related to crime'.
Words with the same origin
The root of criminal is crimin (crime). Words with the same root include crime (an illegal act), incriminate (to accuse of a crime).
