wrongdoers

noun

plural of wrongdoer
as in criminals
a person who commits moral wrongs anticorruption crusaders are going after wrongdoers at every level of the nation's government

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wrongdoers New York’s Bivens Act remedies this by extending the protections of Section 1983 to all individual government wrongdoers — including federal ones. — Joel B. Rudin, New York Daily News, 28 June 2026 The overpowering moral authority of wronged women, #MeToo’s skeptics alleged, would allow cynical wrongdoers to weaponize claims of victimhood for their own gain. — Moira Donegan, New Yorker, 9 June 2026 Greylord was a watershed moment in its use of eavesdropping devices and a mole to obtain evidence instead of relying on wrongdoers to become government informants. — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2026 And when thunderclaps rattled their chests, the Chinese felt a deity punishing wrongdoers. — Quanta Magazine, 6 May 2026 But critics of this effort say this internal mechanism fails to provide meaningful accountability and would protect wrongdoers from any future state bar investigation. — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 25 Apr. 2026 He’s talked tough in news conferences about prosecuting child predators, drug traffickers and assorted wrongdoers. — Dan Sullivan, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2026 For now, his office is limited to civil actions against wrongdoers and passing information to the receiver and state and federal prosecutors. — CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026 California rightly prides itself on standing up for victims of abuse and holding wrongdoers accountable. — Jaime Huff, Oc Register, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wrongdoers
  1. criminals
  2. offenders
  3. sinners
  4. villains
Noun
  • Throughout the bar are blurbs of information on cases and criminals, researched by Rose and the team.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
  • When criminals are behind bars, their victims should finally be safe from them.
    — Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of criminals
Noun
  • Hisbah members also face widespread allegations of rights abuses in their enforcement operations, including subjecting offenders to dehumanizing punishments such as public beatings or shaming.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Its recent report says organized crime groups are increasingly involved in cultural-property theft, with offenders using tools like explosives and firearms.
    — George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of offenders
Noun
  • On one page, tiny, antlike sinners tumbled down a cliff toward perdition.
    — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026
  • That relationship was based on sinners confessing their sins to this vicar.
    — Pat Saperstein, Variety, 14 June 2026
Definition of sinners
Noun
  • At the time of the arrest, many royal observers speculated about Harry and Meghan’s reaction, especially since they had often been portrayed as the family villains.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 25 Aug. 2026
  • As baseball's new villains, the Dodgers' fate in October will be the most talked about storyline.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of villains

Browse Nearby Words

wrongdoer
wrongdoers
wrongdoing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Wrongdoers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wrongdoers. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All