culprit

Meaning

1. The person or thing at fault for a problem or crime.
2. (UK) A prisoner accused but not yet tried.

Synonyms

criminal

offender

delinquent

wrongdoer

ringleader

felon

guilty person

perpetrator

miscreant

transgressor

evildoer

proxy

principal

chief instigator

author

crook

head a conspiracy

important one

chief

convict

prime

malefactor

malfeasant

ruffian

scofflaw

scoundrel

thug

villain

🦹‍♂️

accused person

misdoer

out-law

wicked man

stirrer-up

malfeasor

accused

hajduk

bagman

captive

cause

con man

culpable

desperado

felonious

fiend

initiator

injurer

inmate

instigator

jailbird

knaves

Translations

coupable

culpable

culpado

schuldige

reo

Täter

Schuldige

ένοχος

Schuldiger

colpevole

suçlu

malfaiteur

Missetäter

dader

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkʌlpɹɪt/

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman cul. prit, contraction of culpable: prest (d'averrer nostre bille) 'guilty: ready (to prove our case)', words used by prosecutor in opening a trial, mistaken in English for an address to the defendant. See culpable. It may have been influenced by Latin culpa (“blame, fault”).