wrongdoer

W4R1O1N1G2D2O1E1R1

noun

Someone who does wrong, whether morally, ethically, or in contravention of a law.

“Get and keep wrongdoers out of your thorp (village).”

Similar
UncommonScrabble 14

Meanings

nounwrongdoer (plural wrongdoers)

plural wrongdoers

  1. Someone who does wrong, whether morally, ethically, or in contravention of a law.

    Get and keep wrongdoers out of your thorp (village).

    4 more examples

    Where the owner of the property and several insurers have rights of action for different portions of the value, all arising out of the same wrongful act, they may join in a single action against the wrongdoër.

    1880, Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of the State of Wisconsin, with Tables of the Cases and Principal Matters, volume XLIX, Chicago: Callaghan & Company, page 748

    With all due respect to Aaron, every era seems to have had its legion of wrongdoers and shortcutters who used whatever science was available to get an edge.

    2009 July 31, William C. Rhoden, “Baseball Players’ Silence Led to Loud Drip of Names”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Nov 2022

    Usually it takes him too long going down the stairs from the roof to catch any misdeeder or wrongdoer, but tonight will be different.

    2012, Wred Fright, Blog Love Omega Glee, page 275

    From Tadros’s perspective — the perspective of classical utilitarianism — there is nothing objectionable about this moral lobotomy whereby a wrongdoer pops a moral anesthetic pill immediately after committing whatever atrocity one could imagine in order to avoid suffering — provided, that is, that she would “understand” the wrongness of her actions.

    2018 March 28, Leo Zaibert, Rethinking Punishment, Cambridge University Press, page 74

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna person who transgresses moral or civil law

Similar
Broader
bad person

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Arabic أثِيم, آثِم
  • أثِيمsomeone who does wrong
  • آثِم (ʔāṯim)someone who does wrong
  • مُرتَكِبsomeone who does wrong
  • مُذنِبsomeone who does wrong
  • جانِي (jānī)someone who does wrong
Catalan malfactor
  • malfactorsomeone who does wrong
Chinese Mandarin 作惡者 /作恶者, 為非作歹者 /为非作歹者
  • 作惡者 /作恶者 (zuò'è zhě)someone who does wrong
  • 為非作歹者 /为非作歹者 (wéifēizuòdǎi zhě)someone who does wrong
Esperanto malbonfaranto
  • malbonfarantosomeone who does wrong
Finnish väärintekijä, pahantekijä
  • väärintekijäsomeone who does wrong
  • pahantekijäsomeone who does wrong
French malfaiteur
  • malfaiteursomeone who does wrong
German Übeltäter, Zuwiderhandelnder
  • Übeltätersomeone who does wrong
  • Zuwiderhandelndersomeone who does wrong
  • Zuwiderhandelndesomeone who does wrong
  • Sündigersomeone who does wrong
  • Gesetzesbrechersomeone who does wrong
  • Abweichlersomeone who does wrong
Hindi पापी, विधर्मी
  • पापी (pāpī)someone who does wrong
  • विधर्मी (vidharmī)someone who does wrong
  • अधर्मी (adharmī)someone who does wrong
  • दुराचारी (durācārī)someone who does wrong
Hungarian gonosztevő
  • gonosztevősomeone who does wrong
Italian malintenzionato, malfattore
  • malintenzionatosomeone who does wrong
  • malfattoresomeone who does wrong
  • trasgressoresomeone who does wrong
  • delinquentesomeone who does wrong
  • malviventesomeone who does wrong
Latin malefactor
  • malefactorsomeone who does wrong
Polish złoczyńca
  • złoczyńcasomeone who does wrong
Portuguese malfeitor
  • malfeitorsomeone who does wrong
Russian злоумы́шленник, злоумы́шленница
  • злоумы́шленник (zloumýšlennik)someone who does wrong
  • злоумы́шленница (zloumýšlennica)someone who does wrong
Spanish malhechor, malfechor (disused)
  • malhechorsomeone who does wrong
  • malfechor (disused)someone who does wrong
Cite this entry
APA

wrongdoer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrongdoer

MLA

“wrongdoer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrongdoer. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wrongdoer,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wrongdoer.

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