malefactor means A criminal or felon. It carries an Arena rating of 1544, earned across 11 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, malefactor ranks #2,983 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #3,212 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,454 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,464 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
malefactor is pronounced /ˈmæləˌfæktɚ/.
Why “malefactor” is a great word
One who performs an evil deed or commits a crime. Its lineage is direct: from the Latin *male* ("evilly") and *facere* ("to do"), a malefactor is, etymologically, an evil-doer, a term solidified in English by the mid-15th century. Unlike a "benefactor," who actively builds up, or a "culprit," who is merely caught out, a malefactor is defined by the persistent manufacture of harm. He is the shadow in the alley, the hand that poisons the well, the forger in the lamplit study—an architect of disorder whose work is the chilling constancy of choice to undo.
Etymology
From Middle English malefactour, from Late Latin malefactor, from Latin malefaciō, from male (“evilly”) + factus (“made or done”), past participle of facio (“to make or do”).
noun
- A criminal or felon.
- An evildoer.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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