felon

CEFRC1

/ˈfɛlən/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person convicted of a serious crime.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Obtained through a felony; stolen.

Examples

  • Sami failed to mention he was a convicted felon.

  • Tom is a convicted felon.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Of a place: harsh, savage, wild; of a thing: deadly; harmful.

  2. A person who has committed a felony (“a serious criminal offence”); specifically, one who has been tried and convicted of such a crime.

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Of a person or animal, their actions, thoughts, etc.: brutal, cruel, harsh, heartless; also, evil, wicked.

More examples

In context

  • Tom is a felon.

  • For Courteſies, tho' undeſerv'd and great, / No gratitude in Fellon-minds beget, / As tribute to his VVit, the churl receives the treat.

  • And tvventy youths in radiant mail incas'd, / Cloſe ambuſh'd nigh the ſpacious hall he plac'd. / Then bids prepare the hoſpitable treat: / Vain ſhevvs of love to veil his felon hate!

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The convicted blank was sentenced to ten years for armed robbery.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

The adjective is derived from Middle English feloun, felun (“base, wicked; hostile; of an animal: dangerous; of words: angry, harsh, slanderous; of things: dangerous, deadly; false, fraudulent; unlucky”) [and other forms], from Old French felon (“bad, evil, immoral”) (compare fel (“evil; despicable, vile”)), from Early Medieval Latin fellōnem; further etymology uncertain. Doublet of fell (“of a strong and cruel nature; fierce; grim; ruthless, savage”). Etymology 1, adjective sense 3 (“obtained through a felony”) is derived from the noun. The noun is derived from Middle English feloun, felun (“criminal, specifically one who has committed a felony, felon; cruel, hostile, violent, etc., person...