Meaning & use
raper
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablerareold-fashioned
A person who commits the crime of rape; an uncommon older word that has been replaced by rapist.
Grammar: Count noun; today it is far more usual to write rapist.
The old text uses the word raper where a modern writer would say rapist.
A historian noted that raper appears only a few times in records from that period.
Style guides tell journalists to use rapist, not raper.
Word forms
| plural | rapers |
|---|
Common combinations
- convicted raper
- The archaic phrase convicted raper appears in the old court report.
- the term raper
- The term raper is now almost never used.
- raper or rapist
- The editor changed raper to rapist.
Synonyms and how they differ
- rapist
- Rapist is the standard modern word in law and news, while raper is rare and sounds dated.
- sex offender
- Sex offender is a broader legal term covering many crimes, and is not specific to rape.
Word family
Commonly confused: raper or reaper?
raper vs reaper
A reaper harvests crops, as in the Grim Reaper; the two words sound different and are unrelated in meaning.
Practice
How is the word raper best described today?
Choose one answer.
Raper is an uncommon older form, and rapist is used in modern writing. The other options give meanings the word does not have.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “raper”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.