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criminality

[ krim-uh-nal-i-tee ]

/ ˌkrɪm əˈnæl ɪ ti /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR criminality ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural crim·i·nal·i·ties for 2.

the state of being criminal.

a criminal act or practice.

Origin of criminality

From the Medieval Latin word crīminālitās, dating back to 1605–15. See criminal, -ity

OTHER WORDS FROM criminality

non·crim·i·nal·i·ty, noun

Words nearby criminality

criminal psychology, criminal records bureau, criminal syndicalism, criminalist, criminalistics, criminality, criminalize, criminate, criminative, crimini, criminogenic

Example sentences from the Web for criminality

Yes, a president needs courage to stand up to corruption and criminality in his own country.

Stone: Romancing Chávez |James Poulos |February 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
We want the morality of a situation to match the criminality.

Christopher Darden Believes There May Be Justice Yet for Trayvon |Christopher A. Darden, Michele Noble |July 15, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
What the military has to confront is criminality, not a hookup culture.

Air Force General Blames Increase in Military Rape on Hookup Culture |Eleanor Clift |May 8, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
George Zimmerman pulled the trigger, but a larger ethos of devaluing life and the stereotypes of criminality loaded the gun.

‘Mad Men’ Highlights Invisible Black People and Stain of Racism |Otis Moss III |March 27, 2012 |DAILY BEAST

And so it has proven over the past generation of the swiftest record reduction of criminality in American history.

James Q. Wilson, 1931-2012 |David Frum |March 3, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Among them not neglect of duty only but criminality appears to have been rife.

Irish History and the Irish Question |Goldwin Smith
The essential factor, however, must be that inexorable display of our criminality as a people.

My Life |Josiah Flynt
Of course, I do not try to estimate the 'balance of criminality.'

The Great Illusion |Norman Angell
Let the son of Atreus think better of it: I acquit Helen of criminality; she made use of the opportunity given by an easy husband.

Ars Amatoria, or The Art Of Love |Ovid
But for the great mass of criminality deported to a distant shore no very active concern was shown.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 2 |Various

British Dictionary definitions for criminality

criminality

/ (ˌkrɪmɪˈnælɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the state or quality of being criminal

(often plural) rare a criminal act or practice