perpetrator

«perpetrator» in Mova's school dictionary: a person who does something wrong or harmful, especially… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a perpetrator, perpetrators)

meaning for a pupil

(formal, law) A perpetrator is a person who does something wrong or harmful, especially a crime. tree →

sense in the lessons

In news, police reports and detective stories: «the perpetrator was caught», «police are looking for the perpetrators». In anti-bullying talk: the perpetrator and the victim. It tells the reader who did the bad act.

examples

• Police are searching for the perpetrator. tree →
• The perpetrator of the prank owned up. tree →
• Who was the perpetrator of this mess? tree →
• The detective found the perpetrator. tree →
• Bullying hurts both the victim and, in the long run, the perpetrator. tree →
• The perpetrators were sent to prison. tree →

note

Formal. Verb: perpetrate (do something wrong). Everyday words: culprit, wrongdoer. Spelling: per-pe-tra-tor. Do not confuse with «perpetual» (lasting for ever).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «perpetrator» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.