What does malefactor mean?
A malefactor is someone who causes harm, commits wrongdoing, or behaves in a morally reprehensible way. The word is formal and literary, with a strong negative connotation, and it may describe either a criminal or a person whose actions bring trouble to others. In ordinary use, it is often associated with deliberate evil, deception, or injustice rather than accidental harm. Malefactor appears especially in literature, historical writing, journalism, and discussions of fictional villains. Its Latin origin makes the meaning particularly transparent: the word combines malus, “bad,” with facere, “to do,” producing the sense of an “evil-doer.” Although synonyms such as evildoer, wrongdoer, and villain can convey similar ideas, malefactor has a more elevated and sometimes more dramatic register. It is therefore useful in formal prose when the seriousness or moral gravity of someone’s actions needs to be emphasized.
nounA person who does evil or causes harm, especially a person guilty of wrongdoing or criminal activity.
- A person who causes evil, harm, or mischief.
- A person who commits wrongdoing or is guilty of a crime.
"The detective suspected that the malefactor had returned to the city."
"The novel portrays a malefactor who manipulates the town’s residents for personal gain."
"Historians debated whether the notorious malefactor acted from greed or political ambition."
The regular plural is used when referring to more than one person who does evil or causes harm.
"The novel depicts several malefactors operating within the government."
Malefactor comes from the Latin for “evil-doer”: malus, meaning “bad,” combined with facere, meaning “to do.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does malefactor come from?
Malefactor comes from the Latin malefactor, an agent noun meaning “evil-doer.” It was formed from Latin malefacere, “to do evil,” related to malus, “bad,” and facere, “to do.” English borrowed the word in the early modern period, and related English forms include malefaction and malefic; benefactor is a cognate formed with the opposite prefix.
How malefactor is actually used
Malefactor is formal and literary, and is now less common in everyday speech. It has a strongly negative connotation and usually refers to someone responsible for deliberate wrongdoing, though it can be used more broadly for a mischievous or harmful person.
Easily confused with malefactor
A malfeasor is a person who commits the wrongful or illegal act of malfeasance, whereas a malefactor is more broadly an evildoer or wrongdoer.