of ‧ fend ‧ er /əˈfendə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : OFFENSE/OFFENSE , ↑ offender , ↑ offensive , ↑ offensiveness ; adjective : ↑ offensive ≠ ↑ inoffensive , ↑ offended , ↑ offending ; verb : ↑ offend ; adverb : ↑ offensively ]
1 . someone who is guilty of a crime:
Community punishment is used for less serious offenders.
At 16, Scott was already a persistent offender (=someone who has been caught several times for committing crimes) .
⇨ ↑ first offender , ↑ sex offender , ↑ young offender
2 . someone or something that is the cause of something bad:
Among causes of air pollution, car exhaust fumes may be the worst offender.
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THESAURUS
▪ criminal someone who is involved in illegal activities or has been proved guilty of a crime. Criminal is used especially about someone who often does things that are illegal:
Criminals are stealing people's credit card details off the Internet.
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He is one of the most wanted criminals in the United States.
▪ offender someone who breaks the law:
The courts should impose tougher punishments on offenders.
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a special prison for young offenders
▪ crook informal a dishonest person, especially one who steals money and who you cannot trust:
Some politicians are crooks, but not all of them.
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They're just a bunch of crooks.
▪ felon law especially American English someone who has committed a serious crime:
Convicted felons should not be allowed to profit from their crimes.
▪ the culprit the person who has done something wrong or illegal:
The culprits were never found.
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If I ever catch the culprit, he or she is in big trouble.
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The culprits were just six years old.
▪ delinquent a young person who behaves badly and is likely to commit crimes - used especially in the phrase juvenile delinquent :
He later worked with juvenile delinquents in a Florida youth services program.
▪ accomplice someone who helps a criminal to do something illegal:
Police believe the murderer must have had an accomplice.