culprits

NOUN

person responsible for wrongdoing

Synonyms

STRONGEST

criminal felon fugitive miscreant offender wrongdoer

STRONG

con convict delinquent evildoer jailbird malefactor rascal sinner transgressor yardbird

WEAK

ex-con guilty party

Antonyms

STRONGEST

police

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.

An influential research paper from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab pointed at infrastructure and much-needed upgrade costs as the possible main culprits behind higher bills, at least for the moment.

From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026

"There are only so many possible culprits, so I started to compare things that might be important," Hogan said.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

Cardi proceeded to give physical descriptions of the alleged culprits, adding that she had been discouraged from sharing their photos online by her security team in case it interfered with a police investigation.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

An aging grid, extreme weather and fuel-price volatility are the culprits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

I watched as he was taken to the hospital and watched as the culprits were arrested.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers