malfaiteur

criminal, wrongdoer

noun mal-feh-TEUR Rare

Origin: Latin malefactor, from male (badly) + facere (to do)

Usage Note

Malfaiteur is a formal or journalistic word for a person who commits crimes, often used where English might say 'criminal' or 'felon'. The feminine form is malfaitrice, though it is rare. A related term is méfait (misdeed). Often found in police reports and news articles.

Examples

"La police a arrêté le malfaiteur."

Natural Translation

The police arrested the criminal.

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