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Definition: Criminal |
CriminalAdjective1. Relating to crime or its punishment; "criminal court". 2. Bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure; "a criminal waste of talent"; "a deplorable act of violence"; "adultery is as reprehensible for a husband as for a wife". 3. Guilty of crime or serious offense; "criminal in the sight of God and man". 4. Involving or being or having the nature of a crime; "a criminal offense"; "criminal abuse"; "felonious intent". Noun1. Someone who has committed (or been legally convicted of) a crime. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "criminal" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references) |
Etymology: Criminal \Crim"i*nal\, adjective. [Latin criminalis, from crimen: compare to French criminel. See Crime.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of associating with a person who has committed a crime, denotes that you will be harassed with unscrupulous persons, who will try to use your friendship for their own advancement. To see a criminal fleeing from justice, denotes that you will come into the possession of the secrets of others, and will therefore be in danger, for they will fear that you will betray them, and consequently will seek your removal. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Multilingual Slang | Polish (cwel ). (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A crime is an act which violates a law of a government, nation-state, or jurisdiction, for which there is no successful defense. According to Western jurisprudence, there must be a simultaneous concurrence of both actus reus ("bad action") and mens rea ("bad mind") for a crime to have been committed; except in crimes of strict liability. In order for prosecution, some laws require proof of causality; relating the defendant's actions to the criminal event in question. In addition, some laws require that attendant circumstances have occurred, in order for a crime to have occurred. Also, in order for a crime to be prosecuted, corpus delicti (or "proof of a crime") must be established.A crime can be the action of violating or breaking the law, having the intention of doing so or helping others in the process; in some systems the simple association for organising a crime is punished, even if the fact is not verified and usually for many crimes the attempt too is punished, even if the crime is not completed. Crimes are viewed as offenses against society, and as such are punished by the state. They can be scholastically distinguished, depending on the passive subject of the crime (the victim), or on the offended interest, in crimes against:
Or they can be distinguished depending on the related punishment (then, on the degree of offense that the forbidden behaviour caused), in delicts and violations.
- the personality of the State
- the rights of the citizen
- the public administration
- the administration of justice
- the religious sentiment and the pity for dead
- the public order
- the public faith
- the public economy, industry and commerce
- the public morality
- the person and honour
- the patrimony
In general, in most western systems, the definition of a crime requires the existing intention of committing it (voluntas necandi) in the author, therefore it is usually not punished when this intention is missing or when the author has not a complete mental sanity or is under a certain age.
In many systems the penal responsibility is personal, and the retroactivity of the penal law is forbidden so that no one can be punished for a fact that the penal law didn't already describe as a crime at the moment in which the crime was committed.
The definition of a crime generally reflects the current attitudes prevalent in a society. For example, possession of drugs was not always a crime, while the Prohibition Era made alcohol illegal.
The first civilizations had codes of law, though these codes were not always recorded. The first known written codes were written by the ancient Sumerians, and it was probably their king Ur-Nammu (reigning on Ur in the 21st century BC) the first legislator of which we received a formal system in 32 articles; it has to be recalled that this is not among the eldest laws, since not all the ancient laws are penal rules. In the antiquity, in fact, codes mostly contained both civil and penal rules together. Sumerians however later issued other codes as the one known as "code of Lipit-Istar" (last king of the 3rd dynasty of Ur, Isin - 20th century BC). This code contains some 50 articles and has been reconstructed by the comparison among several sources.
In Babylon the code of Esnunna before, and the code of Hammurabi (one of the richest ones of ancient times) after, were used and reflected society's belief that law was derived from the will of the gods.
Similarly, some codes of conduct of religious origins or reference have been included in penal codes, forbidden behaviours resulting in real crimes in the states ruled by theocracy even in more recent times.
Penal law in USA
The current American legal system derives from English common law, usually case law rather than statutory law, in all states except Louisiana, which follows a French system.
Crimes are divided into categories and subcategories of definition, under which fall many specific crimes. For example, homicide is the subcategory, of the violent crimes, which includes murder, manslaughter, and in some states, self-abortion or "abortion without consent of the female". Arson and theft are examples of property crimes. Each state has its own penal law, which is frequently based on the Model Penal Code. There are also federal statutes, though the defining of federal crimes only became popular in the 1940s and 1950s.
Crimes are generally classified into different degrees of severity, including violations, misdemeanors, and felonies. Violations are punishable by a fine, misdemeanors are punishable by up to a year in a state penitentiary and/ or a fine, and felonies are punishable by a year or more in a state prison and/ or a fine.
Natural law theory of crime
An alternative view of crime is derived from the theory of natural law. In this view, crime is the violation of individual rights. Since rights are considered as natural, rather than man-made, what constitutes a crime is also natural, in contrast to laws, which are man-made. Adam Smith illustrates this view, saying a smuggler would be an excellent citizen, "had not the laws of his country made that a crime which nature never meant to be so."
Natural law theory thus distinguishes between criminality and illegality, the former being derived from human nature, the latter being derived from the interests of those in power. This view leads to a seeming paradox, that an act can be illegal that is no crime, while a criminal act could be perfectly legal.
Many Enlightenment thinkers such as Adam Smith and the American Founding Fathers subscribed to this view to some extent, and it remains influential among so-called classical liberals and libertarians.
Persons convicted of serious crimes are often punished by being kept in prison, for a term of years. There are about 2 million people in prison in the United States.
Malum in Se and Malum Prohibitum
A crime malum in se is argued to be inherently criminal; whereas a crime malum prohibitum is argued to be criminal only because the law has decreed it so.
Types of Crimes
Crimes can be divided into several (overlapping) categories: computer offences, crimes against persons, crimes against property, crimes against state security, drug offences, sexual offences, and weapon offences. Crimes are also be grouped by severity, some common categorical terms being: felonies, indictable offences, infractions, misdemeanors, and summary offences. An inchoate offense is a planned or attempted crime, which the offender was not able to carry out prior to arrest.
See also: criminal law
- arson
- assault
- battery
- blackmail
- burglary
- child sexual abuse
- conspiracy
- domestic violence
- embezzlement
- espionage
- forgery
- fraud
- genocide
- hacking
- homicide
- kidnapping
- larceny
- libel
- loan sharking
- looting
- manslaughter
- motor vehicle theft
- murder
- plagiarism
- racketeering
- rape
- robbery
- slander
- stalking
- theft
- treason
- trespass
- vandalism
See also (in alphabetic order): actus reus, case law, civil law, consensual crime, crime index, crime statistics, criminal justice, criminal law, criminology, defense of justification, detective, hate crime, inchoate crimes, insanity defense, international crime, law, mala in se, mala prohibida, mens rea, organised crime, piracy, police, sexual crime, social control, social policy, statutory law, strict liability crimes, Supreme Court, victimology, war crime.
See crime fiction for a survey of the fictional treatment of crimes and their detection and criminals and their motives.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Crime."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A criminal is a person who has committed crimes. Criminals can be caught by the police, tried by the courts and if convicted receive punishment such as a term in prison or death.Matters related to criminal behavior in society are studied in the field of sociology on the sub-field of criminology, and a person who studies this is called a criminologist. Psychological assessment of criminals is studied by psychologists.
The term "criminal" is sometimes used as a derogatory accusation of a person when viewing an act attributed to him/her as dangerous or destructive towards other people, or property. However, legally, in almost all jurisdictions, it is acceptable that a person is not guilty until convicted, thus may not be called a "criminal" until proven guilty.
See also law, crime, punishment, deterrence, prison, war criminal.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Criminal."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The study of criminal justice traditionally revolves around three main components of the criminal justice system:
Nowadays, it is sometimes argued that psychiatry is also a central part of the criminal justice system.
- police
- courts
- corrections
The pursuit of criminal justice is, like all forms of "justice" or "fairness" or "process", essentially the pursuit of an ideal. Thus this field has many relations to anthropology, economics, history, law, political science, psychology, sociology, and theology. The establishment of criminal justice, as an academic field, is generally accredited to August Vollmer, during the 1920s. By 1950, ~1,000 students were in the field; by 1975, ~100,000 students were in the field; by 1998, ~350,000 students were in the field. A notable center for criminal justice studies is the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Rights
One question which is presented by the idea of creating justice involves the rights of victims and the rights of accused criminals, and how these individual rights are related to one another and to social control. It is generally argued that victim's and defendant's rights are inverselyly related, and individual rights, as a whole, are likewise viewed as inversely related to social control.
Rights, of course, imply responsibilities or duties, and this in turn requires a great deal of consensus in the community regarding the appropriate definitions for many of these legal terms.
Theories
There are several basic theories regarding criminal justice and it's relation to individual rights and social control:
In addition, there are models of criminal justice systems which try to explain how these institutions achieve justice.
- Restorative justice assumes that the victim or their heirs or neighbors can be in some way restored to a condition "just as good as" before the criminal incident. Substantially it builds on traditions in common law and tort law that requires all who commit wrong to be penalized. In recent time these penalties that restorative justice advocates have included community service, restitution, and alternatives to imprisonment that keep the offender active in the community, and re-socialized him into society. Some suggest that it is a weak way to punish criminal who must be deterrred, these critics are often proponents of
- Retributive justice or the "eye for an eye" approach. Assuming that the victim or their heirs or neighbors have the right to do to the offender what was done to the victim. These ideas fuel support for capital punishment for murder, amputation for theft (as in some versions of the sharia).
- Psychiatric imprisonment treats crime nominally as illness, and assumes that it can be treated by psychoanalysis, drugs, and other techniques associated with psychiatry and medicine, but in forcible confinement. It is more commonly associated with crime that does not appear to have animal emotion or human economic motives, nor even any clear benefit to the offender, but has idiosyncratic characteristics that make it hard for society to comprehend, thus hard to trust the individual if released into society.
- Transformative justice does not assume that there is any reasonable comparison between the lives of victims nor offenders before and after the incident. It discourages such comparisons and measurements, and emphasizes the trust of the society in each member, including trust in the offender not to re-offend, and of the victim (or heirs) not to avenge.
- The Consensus Model argues that the organizations of a criminal justice system do, or should, cooperate.
- The Conflict Model assumes that the organizations of a criminal justice system do, or should, compete.
The US Criminal Justice system
"There is a criminal justice process through which each offender passes from the police, to the courts, and back unto the streets. The inefficiency, fall-out, and failure of purpose during this process is notorious." -- US National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence
"Three strikes you're out" is claimed to be cruel and unusual punishment by its opponents, who argue that the U.S. system is too dependent on retributive justice, and is failing socially as well as criminally.
A society should not be judged on how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.....Fyodor Dostoyevsky
See also: criminal law, criminology, law, social justice
- List of basic criminal justice topics
- List of criminal justice notables
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Criminal justice."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Criminal law (penal law) is the body of law which regulate governmental sanctions (such as imprisonment and/or fines) as retaliation for crimes against the social order. The goal of this process is that of achieving criminal justice. According to criminal law, crimes are offences against the social order and government officials are responsible for the prosecution of offenders. The major objective of criminal law is deterrence and punishment, while that of civil law is individual compensation. Criminal offences consist of two distinct elements; the physical act (the actus reus, guilty act)and the requisite mental state with which the act is done (the mens rea, guilty mind). For example, in murder the 'actus reus is the unlawful killing of a person, while the 'mens rea is malice aforethought (the intention to kill or cause grievous injury). The criminal law also details the defences that defendants may bring to lessen or negate their liability (criminal respensability) and specifies the punishment which may be inflicted. Criminal law neither requires a victim, nor a victim's consent, to prosecute an offender. Furthermore, a criminal prosecution can occur over the objections of the victim and the consent of the victim is not a defense in most crimes.
Criminal law in most jurisdictions both in the common and civil law tradition is divided into two fields:
Criminal law distinguishes crimes from civil wrongs such as tort or breach of contract. The distinction between criminal and civil law has existed throughout history. Criminal law has been seen as a system of regulating the behavior of individuals and groups in relation to societal norms at large whereas civil law is aimed primarily at the relationship between private individuals and their rights and obligations under the law. Although many ancient legal systems did not clearly define a distinction between criminal and civil law in England there was little difference until the codification of criminal law occurred in the late nineteenth century. In most U.S. law school the basic course in criminal law is based upon the English common criminal law of 1750.
- Criminal procedure regulates the process for addressing violations of criminal law
- Substantive criminal law details the definition of, and punishments for, various crimes.
A society should not be judged on how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.....Fyodor Dostoyevsky
See:
References:
- Acquittal
- Age of consent
- Allocute
- Animus nocendi
- Answer, Barratry, civil law, Crime, Double jeopardy
- Drunk driving
- Felony
- Fraud
- Fifth Amendment rights of witnesses
- Grand jury
- Guilt, Legal immunity, justice, Mens rea, Misdemeanor
- Kidnapping
- Criminal Negligence
- Plea
- Plea bargain
- Plea of nolo contendere, Plea of temporary insanity, Sentence, social justice, Sodomy law
- Remorse
K. J. M. Smith, Lawyers, Legislators and Theorists: Developments in English Criminal Jurisprudence, 1800-1957 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Criminal law."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Criminal procedure is the process used in dealing with violations of criminal law. Like most aspects of law it often works differently in jurisdictions that follow the civil law tradition and common law. The majority of civil law jurisdictions use procedure that has developed based upon an inquisitorial system of fact finding in which judges who are trained as investigative judges undertake an active investigation of the facts through interviewing the various witnesses and examining the evidence to prepare reports. Whereas in common law based legal systems most of the procedure is based upon the adversarial system of dispute resolution. Some civil law systems use the adversarial system.
It is a widely held but incorrect belief that nations which follow civil law tradition put the burden of proof on the defendant or that the defendant is not afforded some of the basic rights such as representation by counsel.
See also: Indictment, Inquest, Laches, Notitia criminis, Statute of limitations, Trial by jury, Trial de novo, With prejudice
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Criminal procedure."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| CRO | English | Criminal records Office | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: CriminalSynonyms: condemnable (adj), deplorable (adj), felonious (adj), reprehensible (adj), crook (n), felon (n), malefactor (n), outlaw (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Bad Man | Culprit, delinquent, crook, hoodlum, hood, criminal, thug, malefactor, offender, perpetrator, perp; disorderly person, misdemeanant; outlaw; scofflaw; vandal; felon; convict, prisoner, inmate, jail bird, ticket of leave man; multiple offender. |
Legality | Equity, common law; lex, lex nonscripta; law of nations, droit des gens, international law, jus gentium; jus civile; civil law, canon law, crown law, criminal law, statute law, ecclesiastical law, administrative law; lex mercatoria. |
Vice | Adjective: vicious; sinful; sinning;Verb: wicked, iniquitous, immoral, unrighteous, wrong, criminal; naughty, incorrect; unduteous, undutiful. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Oh I can't complain Mom, I'm camping out with a convicted criminal. (Lilo & Stitch; writing credit: Chris Sanders) There's no mystery to the street, no arch criminal behind it all. It if you find a body and you think his brother did it, you're gonna find out you're right (The Usual Suspects; writing credit: Christopher McQuarrie) I had to go to prison to become a criminal. (The Shawshank Redemption; writing credit: Frank Darabont) The greatest criminal mind of our time (Superman; writing credit: Jerry Siegel; Joe Shuster) Legend tells of a caped crusader, Batman, guardian of New Gotham, and his one, true love, Catwoman, the queen of the criminal underworld (Birds of Prey; writing credit: Adam Armus; Nora Kay Foster) | |
Lyrics | 'Cause I'm feelin' like a criminal. (Criminal; performing artist: Fiona Apple) A smooth criminal (Smooth Criminal; performing artist: Alien Ant Farm) It's all political, if my music is literal and I'm a criminal, (Sing For The Moment; performing artist: EMINEM) This kiss, this kiss It’s Criminal ("This Kiss"; performing artist: Faith Hill) Concerning the genetic instruction of a human being, no criminal charges were brought forth (Mephisto and Kevin; performing artist: Primus) | |
Clever | It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress. (references; author: Mark Twain) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Aborto criminal (1973) Investigación criminal (1970) Neutrón contra el criminal sádico (1964) Autopsia de un criminal (1963) The Criminal (1960) | |
Song Titles | Smooth Criminal (performing artist: Michael Jackson) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Periodicals | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Nonfatal and fatal assaultive firearm-related injury rates for males aged 15-24 years, by quarter--United States, 1993-1997. Gun, bullet, shoot, crime, criminal, murder, homicide. Credit: CDC. |  | [Forensic medicine: Criminal in chains before Justice]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
 | The man is a paranoiac : he should be at once confined in an asylum for the criminal insane. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The traitor, the thief, the liar, the murderess, the criminal sits there. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | A criminal trust brought to justice. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Criminal at jewelry store ; sleeping plow horse ; man leaving bar ; yowling cat on fence ; swapped children. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Criminal Courts and House of Detention, Kew Gardens. View. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Masked criminal at the grave of John Barleycorn. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | More than 2,500 Chileans have disappeared : save their lives! : the criminal is known. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | The special criminal court, Dublin : sees no torture, hears no evidence, speaks no truth : a fair trial for the Murrays. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Friedrich Engels | Some laws of state aimed at curbing crime are even more criminal. |
Henry Thomas Buckle | Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it. |
Howard Scott | A criminal is a person with predatory instincts who has not sufficient capital to form a corporation. |
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe | A judge who cannot punish, in the end associates themselves with the criminal. |
John Wilkes Booth | I have too great a soul to die like a criminal. |
Oscar Wilde | Society often forgives the criminal; it never forgives the dreamer. |
| The husbands of very beautiful women belong to the criminal classes. | |
Publilius Syrus | The judge is condemned when the criminal is acquitted. |
Seneca | The upright judge condemns the crime but does not hate the criminal. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | And Cain was so fully convinced, that every one had a right to destroy such a criminal, that after the murder of his brother, he cries out, Every one that findeth me, shall slay me; so plain was it writ in the hearts of all mankind. (Second Treatise of Government) |
US Bill of Rights | 1795 | Amendment VI. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. (reference) |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | The civil and criminal courts existing in the territory of the Saar Basin shall continue. (reference) |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | It would be criminal madness to cast it adrift in this still agitated and un-united world. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
United Nations | 1948 | Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him. (reference) |
Roe v. Wade | 1973 | It is unnecessary to decide the injunctive relief issue, since the Texas authorities will doubtless fully recognize the Court's ruling that the Texas criminal abortion statutes are unconstitutional. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | These gifts of a world to civilisation are such extensions of light that all resistance to them is criminal. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Community-Based Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations. (references) | |
The most effective models integrate criminal justice and drug treatment systems and services. (references) | ||
The case for integrating drug addiction treatment approaches with the criminal justice system is compelling. (references) | ||
Business | Ordinary courts have jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters. (references) | |
The physical abuse of children can be grounds for criminal prosecution. (references) | ||
The laws protect women from verbal abuse or harassment from men, and violators are subject to criminal action. (references) | ||
Children | Panama | Youth participation in criminal gangs is an increasing problem. (references) |
Taiwan | In 1999 the first juvenile court was established in Kaohsiung to handle criminal cases. (references) | |
Gambia | Serious cases of abuse and violence against children were subjected to criminal penalties. (references) | |
Civil Liberties | Yugoslavia | Libel remained a criminal offense. (references) |
Uzbekistan | Pastor Shevchenko faces criminal charges. (references) | |
Bulgaria | Libel is punishable under the Criminal Code. (references) | |
Economic History | Sri Lanka | Criminal law is fundamentally British. (references) |
China | Criminal penalties are too seldom applied. (references) | |
Bulgaria | Bribing a foreign official is a criminal act. (references) | |
Human Rights | Bangladesh | Both hear civil and criminal cases. (references) |
Lebanon | Bail was not available in criminal cases. (references) | |
Malaysia | A single judge hears each criminal trial. (references) | |
Indigenous People | Guatemala | Judges, prosecutors, public defenders, judicial translators, and others already have received the degree, which emphasizes criminal law and human rights. (references) |
India | In 1998 the NHRC established a panel to investigate the condition of the country's 20 million denotified tribal people, the British colonial government labeled as belonging to criminal tribes. (references) | |
Minorities | Bhutan | A royal decree in 1991 made forcible expulsion of a citizen a criminal offense. (references) |
Political Economy | Burkina Faso | Killing or severe beating of criminal suspects by vigilante mobs remained common. (references) |
PANAMA | There is a large backlog of criminal and civil cases that can take years to be resolved. (references) | |
Thailand | Police officers killed a number of criminal suspects while attempting to apprehend them. (references) | |
Political Rights | Armenia | There was no criminal investigation of the amply documented ballot box stuffing. (references) |
Yugoslavia | Indicted war criminal Milan Milutinovic remained President of the Republic of Serbia. (references) | |
Singapore | The Penal Code also provides for criminal defamation offenses; however, there were no reports that it was used for political purposes during the year. (references) | |
Trade | Italy | Italian legislation sets forth orders, obligations and criminal sanctions for violations. (references) |
Armenia | Any unlicensed export of items listed on the export control list will be viewed as illegal and subject to prosecution under the criminal laws of Armenia. (references) | |
Switzerland | The Swiss government recognized that rapid and efficient international cooperation in criminal proceedings is in the interest of Switzerland as a financial center. (references) | |
Travel | Ecuador | Backpackers are frequently targeted for criminal activity in Quito. (references) |
Korea | Possession of significant amounts of counterfeit goods can lead to criminal prosecution. (references) | |
Guyana | Foreign business travelers may be perceived as wealthy targets by the criminal element in Guyana. (references) | |
Women | Zambia | Domestic assault is a criminal offense. (references) |
Australia | Spousal rape is illegal under the state criminal codes. (references) | |
Trinidad and Tobago | Rape, spousal abuse, and spousal rape are criminal offenses. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Moldova | Five criminal cases were opened during the year. (references) |
Bangladesh | Criminal gangs conduct some of the trafficking in persons. (references) | |
Spain | The 2000 Immigration law redefined trafficking as a criminal offense. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | ALDERMAN, n. An ingenious criminal who covers his secret thieving with a pretence of open marauding. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Bob Graham | I don't think there's any question about the legality of the United States bringing a U.S. citizen back to this country to be tried by our criminal justice system. And I think that is what's going to happen. |
Dennis Miller | For every guy from a poor neighborhood who grows up into a criminal, there are a thousand who work hard and build a decent life for themselves. |
Ellen Levin | That's a good question. We have a law that's called the Son of Sam law in New York, and that prohibits any criminal from profiting from their crime. |
House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner | Well, I don't think we should let the world know what criminal investigations are going on, particularly with respect to terrorism. |
Rush Limbaugh | Ashcroft's problem is that the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the FBI have been unable to effectively track aliens who have violated their visas, have criminal records, or have links to terrorist networks. |
Senator Carl Levin | Enron was a deceptive enterprise. Whether or not it's criminal or not is going to be left to a prosecutor or a Justice Department investigation and prosecution. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
James Monroe | 1817-1825 | Should this proposal be acceded to, it is not doubted that this odious and criminal practice will be promptly and entirely suppressed. |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | Since the last session of Congress numerous frauds on the Treasury have been discovered, which I thought it my duty to bring under the cognizance of the United States court for this district by a criminal prosecution. |
Benjamin Harrison | 1889-1893 | Wastefulness, profligacy, or favoritism in public expenditures is criminal. |
Herbert C. Hoover | 1929-1933 | Reform, reorganization and strengthening of our whole judicial and enforcement system, both in civil and criminal sides, have been advocated for years by statesmen, judges, and bar associations. |
Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | Another major threat to every American's person and property is the criminal carrying a handgun. |
Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | Still others hesitate to venture out on the streets for fear of criminal violence. |
Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | The crime bill contains more money for drug treatment for criminal addicts and boot camps for youthful offenders. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Criminal" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 90.95% of the time. "Criminal" is used about 4,988 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 90.95% | 4,536 | 2,157 |
| Noun (proper) | 8.91% | 445 | 13,012 |
| Noun (singular) | 0.1% | 5 | 157,705 |
| Noun (common) | 0.04% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 4,988 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "criminal". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Mysia | N/A | Biblical | Criminal |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
Expressions using "criminal": 3. summons (in criminal cases) ♦ chase after a criminal ♦ commit a criminal offense ♦ criminal abortion ♦ criminal act ♦ Criminal action ♦ criminal assault ♦ criminal case ♦ criminal code ♦ criminal congress ♦ criminal connexion ♦ criminal contempt ♦ criminal conversation ♦ criminal court ♦ criminal damage ♦ criminal defamation ♦ criminal impersonation ♦ criminal investigation department ♦ criminal justice ♦ criminal law ♦ criminal lawyer ♦ criminal liability ♦ criminal matter ♦ criminal neglect ♦ criminal negligence ♦ criminal negligent ♦ criminal offence ♦ criminal offender ♦ criminal offense ♦ criminal police ♦ criminal proceedings ♦ criminal prosecution ♦ Criminal Psychology ♦ criminal record ♦ criminal search ♦ criminal suit ♦ criminal trial ♦ criminal trial lawyer ♦ dangerous criminal ♦ desperate criminal ♦ habitual criminal ♦ have a criminal record ♦ mediation in criminal cases ♦ petty criminal ♦ policy of anticipatory abstention from bringing criminal charges ♦ purchase criminal ♦ specialist in criminal law ♦ war criminal. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "criminal": criminal-court, criminal-enforcement, criminal-justice, criminal-minded, criminal-participation, criminal-pollution. | |
Ending with "criminal": non-criminal, quasi-criminal. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "criminal"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | penal (penal), kriminal (felon, felonious), kraminel. (various references) | |
Arabic | مجرم (culprit, delinquent, evil doer, felon, gangster, guilty, malefactor, miscreant, perpetrator), جنائي (felonious, malicious), جاني, المجرم (malefactor, offender, perpetuator), إجرامي (felonious, guilty). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | криминален, престъпник (culprit, delinquent, evil doer, malefactor, malfeasant, offender, villain, wrongdoer), престъпен (culpable, fell, felonious, flagitious, guilty, maleficent, malfeasant, nefarious, sinful, sinister, tough, wrongful). (various references) | |
Chinese | 犯罪 (Criminally), 犯人 (convict, prisoner), 罪犯 , 刑事 (penal). (various references) | |
Czech | zloèinný (felonious, nefarious), zloèinecký, zloèinec (felon, malefactor), trestný (punishable, punitive, retrievable), kriminálník (gaolbird, jailbird), kriminální (flagitious). (various references) | |
Danish | kriminel adfaerd (criminal behaviour, delinquent behaviour), efter immunitetens ophaevelse indledes strafferetlig forfoelgning mod en dommer (immunity has been waived and criminal proceedings are instituted against a Judge), eftersøgning af kriminelle v.h.a.computer (criminal search, search for criminals, search for wanted persons), følger af kriminel abort (consequences of criminal abortion), forbrydersammenslutning (conspiracy, criminal gang), krigsforbryder (war criminal), kriminalistik og antropometri inden for retsvæsenet (forensic matters and criminal records departments), bødestraf (criminal fine), kriminel abort (criminal abortion), voldsgen (crime gene, criminal gene, violence gene), strafferet (criminal law), strafferetlig forfølgning mod en dommer (criminal proceedings instituted against a Judge), strafferetlige foelger (criminal consequences), straffesag (criminal case), stride mod straffelovgivningen (to constitute a breach of criminal law), ulovlig svangerskabsafbrydelse (criminal abortion), kriminalitetsgen (crime gene, criminal gene, violence gene). (various references) | |
Dutch | snood (malicious, mischievous, nasty, vicious), misdadig, crimineel. (various references) | |
Esperanto | krimulo, krima. (various references) | |
Faeroese | til sakar. (various references) | |
Farsi | گناهکار (Guilty, Sinful, Sinner, Unregenerate(Ed), Unrighteous, Wicked), جنایتکار (Jailbird), جناءی , جانی (Bane, Convict), بزهکار (Guilty, Sinner). (various references) | |
Finnish | rikollinen (culprit), rikoksentekijä. (various references) | |
French | malfaiteur. (various references) | |
Frisian | misdiediger, misdiedich. (various references) | |
German | verbrecherisch (criminally, dark, felonious), verbrecher (convict, criminals, felon, felons, gangster, malefactor, perpetrator, thug, villain), kriminell (criminally, delinquent, wanton). (various references) | |
Greek | κακούργοσ (desperado, felon, racketeer, ruffian, ruffianly, thug, yegg), ποινικόσ (penal), εγκληματικόσ (felonious), εγκληματικός, εγκληματίασ (delinquent, gangster, outlaw, recidivist), εγκληματίας (delinquent). (various references) | |
Hebrew | פושע (apostate, felon, gangster, peccant), עברי ות (delinquency, evildoing, transgression). (various references) | |
Hungarian | büntetőjogi, bûnügyi (correctional), bûnözõ (malfeasant, offender), bûnös (culpable, culprit, delinquent, found guilty, guilty, miscreant, offender, peccant, sinful, sinner, vicious, wicked), bűnvádi. (various references) | |
Indonesian | cumi-cumi (enemy spy, evildoer, squid, traitor), penjahat (bandit, delinquent, desperado, felon, gangster, scum, tough, villain), geladak (deck, mongrel dog). (various references) | |
Italian | malfattore (delinquent, evildoer, malefactor, wrongdoer). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 犯罪者 (culprit), 犯人 (offender), 犯人 (offender), 罪人 (sinner), 科人 (offender), 縄付き , 仕置者 , '人 (offender), 下手人 (offender), 刑事上 (penal). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | しおきもの, なわつき, ざいに" (being in office), 'しゅに" (offender), けいじじょう (metaphysical, penal), は"ざいしゃ (culprit), は"に" (offender), とがに" (offender). (various references) | |
Korean | "죄 (Crime). (various references) | |
Malay | penjahat, jahat. (various references) | |
Manx | oolee (chargeable, guilty), olkeyr (culprit, evil-doer, mischief-maker, moral pervert, offender), kyndagh (convict, culpable, culprit, guilty, malefactor, peccant, trespasser), kimmagh (convict, culprit, detainee, felon, jailbird, offender). (various references) | |
Papiamen | kriminal. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | iminalcray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | criminoso (felon, felonious, flagitious, foul, gangster, guilty, maleficent, mobster, murderous, offender, outlaw, perpetrator, sinful), criminal. (various references) | |
Romanian | criminal (criminally, felon, felonious, flagitious, malefactor, miscreant, misdemeanant, murderer, murderous, offender, outrageous, perpetrator, slayer), delicvent (delinquent, misdemeanant). (various references) | |
Russian | уголовный (capital, penal), преступный (culpable, felonious, flagitious, maleficent, malfeasant), преступник уголовный, преступник (culprit, delinquent, evil doer, evil-doer, felon, first offender, law-breaker, malefactor, malfeasant, mobster, offender, perpetrator, vermin). (various references) | |
Scottish | lochdach (defective; criminal, hurtful). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | zločinac (evil doer, felon, malefactor, miscreant, outlaw), zločinački (felonious, flagitious, miscreant), zlikovac (evil doer, villain), kriminalac. (various references) | |
Spanish | delictivo (punishable). (various references) | |
Swedish | förbrytare (convict, malfeasant, offender, prisoner), brottsling (criminal offender, culprit, delinquent, felon, malefactor), kriminell (felonious, flash), kriminal, brottslig (culpable, delinquent, delinquents, felonious, flagitious). (various references) | |
Turkish | cinayet (crime, enormity, felony, homicide, killing, murder), ceza (correction, fine, forfeit, imposition, infliction, pain, penal, penalty, punishment, punitive, recompense, retribution, sconce), canice (felonious), suçlu (con, convict, culpable, culprit, delinquent, evil doer, felon, guilty, malefactor, misdemeanant, offender, transgressor), suç oluşturan, sabıkalı (picaroon, previously convicted, recidivist, recidivous, repeater). (various references) | |
Turkmen | jenaяatly, jenaяatcy. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | рецидивіст (canary bird, jailbird, old offender), крімінальний, карний (penal), злочинний (culpable, felonious, flagitious, gallows, guilty, maleficent, malfeasant, offending, wrong, wrongful), злочинець (appellant, appellor, convict, culprit, delinquent, evil doer, malefactor, perpetrator, tamperer). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | có tội (delinquent, felonious, sinful), tội phạm, phạm tội (delinquent), kẻ phạm tội (delinquent). (various references) | |
Welsh | troseddwr (offender, transgressor, trespasser). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | crimen, crimine, criminis, damnatorum, damnatus, derschadra penala, facinorosissimus, facinorosus, malefici, maleficis, maleficos, nefaria, nefariam, nefarie, nefario, nefarium, nocens, nocentes, nocenti, noxia, noxiorum, noxius, RM:derschader penal, RM:dretgira penala, scelerate, sceleratiora, sceleratis, sceleratius, scelestus, tribunal penal. (various references) |
| Avestan | 200-600 | ash-varecå, patitem, peshô-tanu. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "criminal": criminalistics, criminalities, criminality, criminalization, criminalizations, criminalize, criminalized, criminalizes, criminalizing, criminally, criminals. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "criminal": noncriminal, supercriminal. (additional references) | |
Words containing "criminal": decriminalization, decriminalizations, decriminalize, decriminalized, decriminalizes, decriminalizing, noncriminals, supercriminals. (additional references) | |
| |
"Criminal" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Cariniana, crimial, Criminale, crimine, Criminel, criminla, criminol, crinical, crinoidal, crminial, Cruciani, rumenal. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "criminal" (pronounced kri"munul) |
| 8 | k r i" m u n u l | noncriminal. |
| 6 | -i" m u n u l | subliminal. |
| 5 | -m u n u l | abdominal, terminal, luminal, nominal, phenomenal, seminal. |
| 4 | -u n u l | aberrational, aboriginal, additional, Arsenal, attitudinal, binational, biphenyl, cantonal, Cardinal, coeducational, collisional, compositional, computational, concessional, conditional, confessional, conformational, confrontational, congregational, congressional, connotational, constitutional, conventional, conversational, correctional, delusional, denominational, depositional, devotional, diagonal, dimensional, directional, divisional, doctrinal, duodenal, dysfunctional, educational, emotional, erosional, exceptional, factional, fictional, fluxional, foundational, fractional, functional, gastrointestinal, generational, gravitational, hexagonal, impersonal, improvisational, superregional, supranational, informational, inspirational, institutional, instructional, intentional, intergenerational, international, interpersonal, intestinal, investigational, Invitational, irrational, jurisdictional, juvenile, latitudinal, longitudinal, marginal, medicinal, motivational, multinational, national, navigational, nonprofessional, nontraditional, nutritional, obsessional, occasional, occupational, octagonal, operational, optional, organizational, original, personal, polygonal, processional, professional, promotional, proportional, provisional, rational, recreational, regional, relational, representational, retinal, rotational, seasonal, sectional, sensational, sentinel, situational, traditional, transformational, transitional, transnational, unconditional, unconstitutional, unconventional, unemotional, unintentional, unprofessional, untraditional, virginal, vocational. |
| 3 | -n u l | infernal, adrenal, anal, annal, annul, atonal, autumnal, carnal, channel, Colonel, communal, cornel, Darnel, departmental, diurnal, empanel, eternal, external, faunal, fennel, final, flannel, fraternal, funnel, hormonal, Hymnal, impanel, spinal, internal, journal, kennel, kernel, maternal, monoclonal, monsoonal, morainal, nocturnal, panel, paternal, penal, polyvinyl, renal, semifinal, shrapnel, signal, tonal, tribunal, tunnel, vaginal, venal, vernal, Vinal, vinyl. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-i-i-l-m-n-r" | |
-1 letter: minicar. | |
-2 letters: aminic, carlin, limina, limnic, marlin. | |
-3 letters: acini, amici, amnic, animi, cairn, cilia, claim, iliac, inarm, liman, linac, malic, manic, micra, milia, naric, ricin. | |
-4 letters: airn, amin, amir, anil, aril, cain, calm, carl, carn, clam, clan, cram, ilia, inia, laic, lain, lair, lari, liar, lima, limn, lira, liri, mail, main, mair, marc, marl. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-i-i-l-m-n-r" | |
+1 letter: criminals. | |
+2 letters: criminally, reclaiming. | |
+3 letters: albuminuric, californium, criminality, criminalize, infomercial, lacrimation, mineralogic, noncriminal, palindromic, planimetric, proclaiming, unempirical. | |
+4 letters: californiums, caramelising, caramelizing, criminalized, criminalizes, infomercials, lacrimations, mercantilism, mercantilist, noncriminals, nonempirical, nonmicrobial, overclaiming, philharmonic. | |
+5 letters: acrimoniously, antimicrobial, ceremonialism, ceremonialist, cliometrician, combinatorial, credentialism, criminalities, criminalizing, decriminalize, discriminable, discriminably, intermetallic, matriculating, matriculation, mercantilisms, mercantilists, microanalysis, microanalytic, microfilament, microtonality, mineralogical, mitochondrial, multitracking, philharmonics, provincialism, recompilation, republicanism, semiporcelain, supercriminal, triamcinolone, vermiculation. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Quotations: Familiar | 9. Quotations: Historic 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Quotations: Spoken | 13. Quotations: Speeches 14. Usage Frequency 15. Names: Derived from 16. Expressions | 17. Expressions: Internet 18. Translations: Modern 19. Translations: Ancient 20. Abbreviations | 21. Acronyms 22. Derivations 23. Rhymes 24. Anagrams | 25. Bibliography |
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