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# perpetrator

«perpetrator» in Mova's school dictionary: **a person who does something wrong or harmful, especially…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (a perpetrator, perpetrators)

### meaning for a pupil

(formal, law) A perpetrator is a person who does something wrong or harmful, especially a crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perpetrator/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In news, police reports and detective stories: «the perpetrator was caught», «police are looking for the perpetrators». In anti-bullying talk: the perpetrator and the victim. It tells the reader who did the bad act.

### examples

- Police are searching for the perpetrator. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perpetrator/#x1)
- The perpetrator of the prank owned up. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perpetrator/#x2)
- Who was the perpetrator of this mess? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perpetrator/#x3)
- The detective found the perpetrator. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perpetrator/#x4)
- Bullying hurts both the victim and, in the long run, the perpetrator. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perpetrator/#x5)
- The perpetrators were sent to prison. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perpetrator/#x6)

### note

Formal. Verb: perpetrate (do something wrong). Everyday words: culprit, wrongdoer. Spelling: per-pe-tra-tor. Do not confuse with «perpetual» (lasting for ever).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «perpetrator» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perpetrator/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.