felon
felons
Technically, a felon is anyone who's been convicted of a serious crime, but you can use felon to describe anyone you think has done something terrible.
For a felon, it's being paraded in handcuffs in front of the public that can be the worst part of being convicted. In some countries, you're considered a felon simply because the king says that you are. Here in the U.S., though, you're innocent until proven guilty, at which point people can call you a felon. My boyfriend took the dog, the TV, and my expensive French sauté pan after we broke up. If you ever run into the felon, please kick him in the shins, and tell him he's a criminal.
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someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
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synonyms:
criminal, crook, malefactor, outlaw
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examples:
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William H. Bonney
United States outlaw who was said to have killed 21 men (1859-1881)
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Jesse James
United States outlaw who fought as a Confederate soldier and later led a band of outlaws that robbed trains and banks in the West until he was murdered by a member of his own gang (1847-1882)
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Robert MacGregor
Scottish clan leader and outlaw who was the subject of a 1817 novel by Sir Walter Scott (1671-1734)
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Benedict Arnold
United States general and traitor in the American Revolution; in 1780 his plan to surrender West Point to the British was foiled (1741-1801)
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John Wilkes Booth
United States actor and assassin of President Lincoln (1838-1865)
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Alphonse Capone
United States gangster who terrorized Chicago during prohibition until arrested for tax evasion (1899-1947)
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Guy Fawkes
English conspirator who was executed for his role in a plot to blow up James I and the Houses of Parliament (1570-1606)
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Jack the Ripper
an unidentified English murderer in the 19th century
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Jean Laffite
French pirate who aided the United States in the War of 1812 and received an official pardon for his crimes (1780-1826)
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Sir Henry Morgan
a Welsh buccaneer who raided Spanish colonies in the West Indies for the English (1635-1688)
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Titus Oates
English conspirator who claimed that there was a Jesuit plot to assassinate Charles II (1649-1705)
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Lee Harvey Oswald
United States assassin of President John F. Kennedy (1939-1963)
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Bartholomew Roberts
a Welsh pirate credited with having taken more than 400 ships (1682-1722)
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Edward Thatch
an English pirate who operated in the Caribbean and off the Atlantic coast of North America (died in 1718)
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Dick Turpin
English highwayman (1706-1739)
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Khayr ad-Din
Barbary pirate (died in 1546)
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types:
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accessary, accessory
someone who helps another person commit a crime
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arsonist, firebug, incendiary
a criminal who illegally sets fire to property
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blackmailer, extortioner, extortionist
a criminal who extorts money from someone by threatening to expose embarrassing information about them
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bootlegger, moonshiner
someone who makes or sells illegal liquor
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briber, suborner
someone who pays (or otherwise incites) you to commit a wrongful act
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coconspirator, conspirator, machinator, plotter
a member of a conspiracy
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desperado, desperate criminal
a bold outlaw (especially on the American frontier)
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fugitive, fugitive from justice
someone who is sought by law officers; someone trying to elude justice
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gangster, mobster
a criminal who is a member of gang
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highbinder
a corrupt politician
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highjacker, hijacker
someone who uses force to take over a vehicle (especially an airplane) in order to reach an alternative destination
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goon, hood, hoodlum, punk, strong-armer, thug, tough, toughie
an aggressive and violent young criminal
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gaolbird, jail bird, jailbird
a criminal who has been jailed repeatedly
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abductor, kidnaper, kidnapper, snatcher
someone who unlawfully seizes and detains a victim (usually for ransom)
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mafioso
a member of the Mafia crime syndicate in the United States
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gangster's moll, gun moll, moll
the girlfriend of a gangster
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liquidator, manslayer, murderer
a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
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parolee, probationer
someone released on probation or on parole
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drug dealer, drug peddler, drug trafficker, peddler, pusher
an unlicensed dealer in illegal drugs
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racketeer
someone who commits crimes for profit (especially one who obtains money by fraud or extortion)
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raper, rapist
someone who forces another to have sexual intercourse
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habitual criminal, recidivist, repeater
someone who is repeatedly arrested for criminal behavior (especially for the same criminal behavior)
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scofflaw
one who habitually ignores the law and does not answer court summonses
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contrabandist, moon curser, moon-curser, runner, smuggler
someone who imports or exports without paying duties
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stealer, thief
a criminal who takes property belonging to someone else with the intention of keeping it or selling it
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traitor, treasonist
someone who betrays his country by committing treason
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law offender, lawbreaker, violator
someone who violates the law
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apache
a Parisian gangster
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absconder
a fugitive who runs away and hides to avoid arrest or prosecution
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abetter, abettor
one who helps or encourages or incites another
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accessory after the fact
a person who gives assistance or comfort to someone known to be a felon or known to be sought in connection with the commission of a felony
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accessory before the fact
a person who procures or advises or commands the commission of a felony but who is not present at its perpetration
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accessory during the fact
a person who witnesses a crime but does not try to prevent it
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assassin, assassinator, bravo
a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed
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bagman
a racketeer assigned to collect or distribute payoff money
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bandit, brigand
an armed thief who is (usually) a member of a band
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barnburner
someone who burns down a barn
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booster, lifter, shoplifter
a thief who steals goods that are in a store
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bully
a hired thug
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burglar
a thief who enters a building with intent to steal
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butcher
a brutal indiscriminate murderer
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collaborationist, collaborator, quisling
someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying force
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collaborator, confederate, henchman, partner in crime
someone who assists in a plot
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coyote
someone who smuggles illegal immigrants into the United States (usually across the Mexican border)
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crimp, crimper
someone who tricks or coerces men into service as sailors or soldiers
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cutthroat
someone who murders by cutting the victim's throat
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dacoit, dakoit
a member of an armed gang of robbers
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defalcator, embezzler, peculator
someone who violates a trust by taking (money) for his own use
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escapee
someone who escapes
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fifth columnist, saboteur
a member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader
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fratricide
a person who murders their brother or sister
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body snatcher, ghoul, graverobber
someone who takes bodies from graves and sells them for anatomical dissection
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graverobber
someone who steals valuables from graves or crypts
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gun, gun for hire, gunman, gunslinger, hired gun, hit man, hitman, shooter, torpedo, triggerman
a professional killer who uses a gun
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arms-runner, gunrunner
a smuggler of guns
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hatchet man, iceman
a professional killer
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holdup man, stickup man
an armed thief
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infanticide
a person who murders an infant
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larcener, larcenist
a person who commits larceny
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mass murderer
a person who is responsible for the deaths of many victims in a single incident
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murderess
a woman murderer
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parricide
someone who kills his or her parent
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cutpurse, dip, pickpocket
a thief who steals from the pockets or purses of others in public places
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literary pirate, pirate, plagiariser, plagiarist, plagiarizer
someone who uses another person's words or ideas as if they were his own
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despoiler, freebooter, looter, pillager, plunderer, raider, spoiler
someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war)
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ripper
a murderer who slashes the victims with a knife
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robber
a thief who steals from someone by threatening violence
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rumrunner
someone who illegally smuggles liquor across a border
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cattle thief, rustler
someone who steals livestock (especially cattle)
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cracksman, safebreaker, safecracker
a thief who breaks open safes to steal valuable contents
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serial killer, serial murderer
someone who murders more than three victims one at a time in a relatively short interval
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seizer, shanghaier
a kidnapper who drugs men and takes them for compulsory service aboard a ship
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snatcher
a thief who grabs and runs
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pilferer, sneak thief, snitcher
a thief who steals without using violence
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traitress
female traitor
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yakuza
a Japanese gangster
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yardie
member of an international gang of Jamaican criminals who sell drugs and violence
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type of:
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principal
(criminal law) any person involved in a criminal offense, regardless of whether the person profits from such involvement
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a purulent infection at the end of a finger or toe in the area surrounding the nail
Vocabulary lists containing felon
In 1935, twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz Island with his parents and his autistic sister Natalie. With a little help from his new friend Piper, Moose learns to adapt to life at the notorious prison.
Vocabulary.com and the New York Times Learning Network have teamed up to launch a Vocabulary Video contest. Just create a short (15 seconds or less) video that defines or teaches any of the words in the Times' Word of the Day collection, post it online, and submit a link to your video in the comments section of the announcement. Click on these links to learn more about the eligible words: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, and List 6.
Actor Alan Rickman died on January 14, 2016 from cancer at the age of 69. For millions of people, Alan Rickman will forever be known as Severus Snape from the Harry Potter films. For others, he will be associated with Hans Gruber, the villian in the first Die Hard movie. An intimidating presence because you usually got the sense that he was the smartest one in the movie, Alan Rickman made a lasting contribution with these roles and others in films like Galaxy Quest, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Sense and Sensibility and Love, Actually. Here are thirteen quotes from Alan Rickman's work and a few from his life.
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