How to Use criminal in a Sentence

criminal

1 of 2 adjective
Definition of criminalnext
Synonyms for criminalnext
  • The captain of the wrecked boat was accused of criminal negligence.
  • It's criminal that the government is doing nothing to stop the problem.
  • The company brought criminal charges against her.
  • Take a look at some of the key events leading to the 37 criminal charges against Trump.
    — Chicago Tribune Staff, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2023
  • The latter ruled that Pitt did not abuse the children, and the FBI declined to bring any criminal charges against the actor.
    — Christian Holub, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
  • The first of his four criminal trials is scheduled for March.
    — Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 16 Dec. 2023
  • Worrell said the 28-year-old with a lengthy criminal history was out on bond at the discretion of the judge over the case.
    — Christopher Cann and Jeff Weiner, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Here’s a look at the high-profile criminal cases the Union-Tribune will be watching in 2024.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Jan. 2024
  • The man faces federal criminal charges for the incident and has pleaded not guilty.
    — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2023
  • During that hearing, Gaffey denied a request for the dismissal of the DA's criminal case against Majors.
    — Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 26 Oct. 2023
  • The criminal complaint liberally quotes a transcript of Sheindlin's TV show that aired last year.
    — Cary Spivak, Journal Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2023
  • Policing and criminal justice are two of the issues on the campaign trail ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
    — Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2023
  • Trump is facing a total of 91 felony counts across four criminal cases, two at the federal level and two at the state level.
    — Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 1 Sep. 2023
  • But Donald Trump was undeterred by that and seemingly by the growing list of criminal charges against him.
    — CBS News, 30 July 2023
  • The judges ordered the defendants to not discuss the facts of the criminal case with each other or any witnesses ahead of a high-stakes public trial with a date yet to be set.
    — Time, 13 June 2023
  • His drug habit started young; so did his criminal rap sheet, with stints in juvenile hall for grand theft auto and burglary.
    — Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024
  • Simmons is also charged with making criminal threats against Brandon Gray on the same day he is accused of killing Murphy.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2024
  • The use of rap lyrics in criminal prosecutions is a topic of ongoing debate around the country.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2023
  • The journey is risky and migrants must face the wilderness, dangerous animals and criminal gangs that smuggle drugs and people in the stretch of jungle.
    — Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 19 Aug. 2023
  • His lawyer said Michael Monaco was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash and is not the subject of a criminal investigation.
    — Bill Lukitsch, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2024
  • The original story idea was pretty simple: the good guy exchanges faces with the bad guy to break up his criminal organization and save the world.
    — Simon Abrams, The New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2023
  • Smith Diaz runs a criminal defense law firm in downtown Chula Vista.
    — Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2023
  • Trump is the first presidential candidate to run while facing criminal charges, a fact which has led to upticks in fundraising and hasn’t interrupted his rise in the polls.
    — Wsj Staff, WSJ, 13 Jan. 2024
  • Now, criminal charges against Donald Trump have again put the nation on a collision course between partisan politics and the rule of law.
    — Nbc Universal, NBC News, 30 July 2023
  • Todd Blanche, a white-collar criminal defense lawyer who joined Trump’s legal team late last week, is expected to represent him in court.
    — Shayna Jacobs, David Nakamura, Hannah Allam, Isaac Arnsdorf, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2023
  • The decision comes a day after a new date was set to begin the criminal trial, which is now expected to kick off with jury selection on April 15.
    — Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 26 Mar. 2024
  • He was relieved of duty from the Orange County Sheriff’s office without pay as the criminal case proceeds.
    — Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 26 Jan. 2024
  • However, Trump — who has been charged with 91 felony counts in four criminal cases — has moved to delay his trials until after the election.
    — Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2024
  • While White Collar wrapped in 2014, Bomer said fans still identify him as criminal consultant Neal.
    — Dana Rose Falcone, Peoplemag, 19 Feb. 2024
  • He has been charged with four counts of child endangerment, five counts of armed criminal action, one count of making a terrorist threat and one count of unlawful use of a weapon, all of which are felonies.
    — Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 17 Oct. 2023
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criminal

2 of 2 noun
  • The criminals will ride the trains out of the city and rob our houses.
    — Dean Minnich, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2024
  • Then, there’s the matter of the criminals that the U.S. plans to release to Iran.
    — The Editors, National Review, 14 Sep. 2023
  • What is the gun of choice for criminals in the Cleveland area?
    — Laura Johnston, cleveland, 17 July 2023
  • And for an event that the would-be criminals are taking great pains to attend.
    — Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 25 Aug. 2023
  • But the truth is, criminals are getting savvier — and even the smartest among us could fall for their tricks.
    — Nerdwallet, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024
  • The man could be legitimate, a thief, or a criminal on the run.
    — Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Most Americans know that the savage Hamas war criminals deserve to be wiped from the face of the earth.
    — WSJ, 8 Dec. 2023
  • But the chances of police catching the criminal who stole the Infiniti are slim.
    — Ash-Har Quraishi, Amy Corral, Chris Hacker, CBS News, 17 Oct. 2023
  • The type of men who are often reduced to criminals in the mainstream media.
    — Jean Guerrero, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2023
  • And that's criminals using A.I. to build the better mousetrap.
    — CBS News, 28 May 2023
  • But authorities knew the ease of the process made the program an easy target for would-be criminals.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 25 July 2023
  • But serial killers, spies, con artists, and criminals have also called the state their home.
    — Alex Groth, Journal Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Parthiban saves the beast, but shows less mercy when a group of criminals threaten his daughter a few scenes later.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
  • There are, of course, war criminals who need to be held accountable; my colleagues and I are not calling for amnesty all around.
    — Aleksei Miniailo, Foreign Affairs, 28 Dec. 2023
  • His own son, Pedro, becomes a drug addict and then, as a dealer known as Dom, one of the most wanted criminals in Brazil.
    — Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2023
  • The hope is that keeping criminals off the streets will lessen the amount of crime that is committed, and deter others from committing crime.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024
  • The criminal, who served time in a Brooklyn jail, also obtained phone numbers of the victim’s son, threatening to make false claims to those close to him.
    — Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2023
  • In 1950, the Soviets returned him to China, where he was held as a war criminal but pardoned about a decade later.
    — Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 May 2023
  • The couple had run away from criminals and jumped panicked into the river, Gómez recounted, shaking from the cold, his sleeves ripped by the wire.
    — Arelis R. Hernández, Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Organized retail crime refers to rings of criminals acting together to steal a range of goods from stores that can be sold.
    — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2023
  • The numbers come after a year of Congress targeting the district over its handling of crime and criminals.
    — Rachel Schilke, Washington Examiner, 2 Jan. 2024
  • So the door opens up for Damian when Bruce gets tricked into going to Nova Scotia, and then, lo and behold, these two criminals break in and crime is back.
    — Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Dec. 2023
  • The criminal peels off the protective tape covering the PIN and photographs it and the card’s serial number.
    — Craig Silverman, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Those people still face many of the same employment hurdles that hardened criminals do.
    — The Editors, National Review, 2 June 2023
  • The record must reflect that cryptocurrency isn’t the currency of choice for criminals.
    — WSJ, 23 Oct. 2023
  • The legal teams discussed a plea deal in January as a result of police recovering many of the pieces, which four of the criminals agreed to and admitted their part in the theft.
    — Peter Aitken, Fox News, 16 May 2023
  • Diniz was kept in a three-cubic meters underground cell with no bathroom for a week until the criminals were caught.
    — Fabiola Moura, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2024
  • Some note that the larger issue is the danger of being drugged, regardless of whether a criminal can unlock a person’s phone and steal their money.
    — Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 20 Nov. 2023
  • If more than 50% vote in favor, the criminal is killed by a mysterious character called Dog Mask.
    — Patrick Frater, Variety, 11 Aug. 2023
  • The agency says criminals appear to be switching tactics.
    — Michael Kan, PCMAG, 1 Apr. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'criminal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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