bad actor

NOUN

criminal

Synonyms

STRONGEST

convict crook culprit felon fugitive gangster hoodlum hooligan lawbreaker mobster offender thug

STRONG

bad guy bad person baddie baddy blackmailer con delinquent desperado deuce evildoer guerrilla heavy hood hustler jailbird malefactor mug muscle outlaw racketeer repeater scofflaw sinner transgressor trespasser wrongdoer yardbird

WEAK

black marketeer ex-con inside person slippery eel

Antonyms

STRONGEST

police

WEAK

law

NOUN

troublemaker

Synonyms

STRONGEST

agitator

STRONG

firebrand gremlin heel hellion incendiary inciter instigator meddler mischief-maker nuisance phony punk rabble-rouser rascal recreant snake weasel

WEAK

agent provocateur inflamer loose cannon smart aleck stormy petrel

Antonyms

WEAK

peacemaker

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Let’s assume, for the sake of this column, that your friend’s sister is indeed a bad actor.

From MarketWatch • May 25, 2026

Demand from other agencies to use Grok has been anemic, people familiar with the matter said, except in a few cases where people wanted to use it to mimic a bad actor for defensive testing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

If a bad actor -- or even an electromagnetic storm -- disrupted enough satellites, GPS-based navigation would fail.

From Science Daily • Jan. 8, 2026

And it was always easy to spot a bad actor.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2025

He had looked strangely comical, like a bad actor auditioning for a solemn part in a play.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

bad actor

Example Sentences

Related Words