criminality

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Crime in general, or the habit of behaving in ways that break the law.

   Grammar: No plural and no a: criminality is falling.

   Patterns

   • criminality in something

   Researchers studied the causes of youth criminality in the city.

   The police chief said criminality dropped last year.

   Poverty is often linked to criminality, though the link is complex.

2. 2noununcountable

   The quality of being illegal or morally wrong.

   Grammar: Often followed by of: the criminality of the act.

   Patterns

   • the criminality of something

   The judge pointed to the criminality of their actions.

   He denied any criminality in the deal.

Common combinations

organized criminality

The task force targets organized criminality.

evidence of criminality

There was no evidence of criminality.

low levels of criminality

The town has low levels of criminality.

serious criminality

The inquiry uncovered serious criminality at the firm.

tackle criminality

New programs aim to tackle criminality among teenagers.

Synonyms and how they differ

crime

Crime can name a single act or crime in general, while criminality sounds more abstract and formal.

lawbreaking

Lawbreaking is plainer and focuses on the act of breaking rules rather than the pattern or state.

delinquency

Delinquency mainly means bad behavior by young people, a narrower use than criminality.

Opposites

Word family

crime noun

an act that breaks the law

criminal noun

a person who commits crimes

criminal adjective

relating to crime

criminalize verb

to make an act illegal

criminally adverb

in a way that breaks the law

Commonly confused: criminality or criminology?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “criminality”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words