perpetrator

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per·pe·trate

(pûr′pĭ-trāt′)

tr.v. per·pe·trat·ed, per·pe·trat·ing, per·pe·trates

To be responsible for; commit: perpetrate a crime; perpetrate a practical joke.

[Latin perpetrāre, perpetrāt-, to accomplish : per-, per- + patrāre, to bring about (from pater, father; see pəter- in Indo-European roots).]

per′pe·tra′tion n.

per′pe·tra′tor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

per•pe•tra•tor

(ˈpɜr pɪˌtreɪ tər)
n.

a person who perpetrates a crime.

[1565–70]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

perpetrator - someone who perpetrates wrongdoing

culprit

offender, wrongdoer - a person who transgresses moral or civil law

Translations

виновникизвършител

Täter

δράστης

perpetrador

syyllinentekijä

elkövető

perpetrator

[ˈpɜːpɪtreɪtəʳ] N → autor(a) m/f, responsable mf

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

perpetrator

[ˈpɜː^rpɪtreɪtə^r] n [crime] → auteur m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

perpetrator

n → Täter(in) m(f); (= originator) → Verursacher(in) m(f); the perpetrator of this crime → derjenige, der dieses Verbrechen begangen hat

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

perpetrator

[ˈpɜːpɪˌtreɪtəʳ] n (of crime) → autore/trice

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

References in classic literature ?

This murder had, on the contrary, been done most deliberately, and the perpetrator had left his tracks all over the room, showing that he had been there all the time.

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Let the advocates of a falsely called Philanthropy plead as they may for the abrogation of the Irregular Penal Laws, I for my part have never known an Irregular who was not also what Nature evidently intended him to be -- a hypocrite, a misanthropist, and, up to the limits of his power, a perpetrator of all manner of mischief.

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There are things most necessary to be done, the perpetrator of which we neither love nor honour; and there may be refusals to serve us, which shall rather exalt in our estimation those who deny our request.

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No one can hope more fervently than I do that the perpetrator of these deeds will be found and punished.

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It was committed in the presence of slaves, and they of course could neither institute a suit, nor testify against him; and thus the guilty perpetrator of one of the bloodiest and most foul murders goes unwhipped of justice, and uncensured by the community in which he lives.

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Nothing is more remarkable than the various deceptions by which guilt conceals itself from the perpetrator's conscience, and oftenest, perhaps, by the splendor of its garments.

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"And who was the perpetrator of this deed?" demanded Middleton.

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Within eight-and-forty hours, a reward of One Hundred Pounds was proclaimed, together with a free pardon to any person or persons not the actual perpetrator or perpetrators, and so forth in due form.

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A groan escaped his lips, and after that a series of hideous roars, more bestial than the beasts', as he dropped plummet-like in mad descent toward the perpetrator of this hideous crime.

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At first she wondered if he could be a fugitive from justice--the perpetrator of some horrid crime, who dared not divulge his true name even in the remote fastness of a Bornean wilderness; but a glance at his frank and noble countenance drove every vestige of the traitorous thought from her mind.

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They ran for the gates, to wreak dire vengeance upon the foolhardy perpetrator of the outrage; but they suddenly realized that they did not know which way to turn to find the foe.

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I want the man I love and honor to be something finer and higher than a perpetrator of jokes and doggerel."