criminaloid

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noun

A person who carries out business in an immoral or exploitative way, but does not necessarily break the law, and is protected from consequences by a veneer of social respectability.

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Meanings

nouncriminaloid (plural criminaloids)

plural criminaloids

  1. A person who carries out business in an immoral or exploitative way, but does not necessarily break the law, and is protected from consequences by a veneer of social respectability.

Origin

From criminal + -oid, coined by E. A. Ross in Sin and Society (1907).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

criminaloid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/criminaloid

MLA

“criminaloid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/criminaloid. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “criminaloid,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/criminaloid.

Source: criminaloid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.