The difference between Criminal and Illegal
When used as nouns, criminal means a person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law, whereas illegal means an illegal act or technique.
When used as adjectives, criminal means against the law, whereas illegal means contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal law.
check bellow for the other definitions of Criminal and Illegal
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Criminal as an adjective:
Against the law; forbidden by law.
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Criminal as an adjective:
Guilty of breaking the law.
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Criminal as an adjective:
Of or relating to crime or penal law.
Examples:
"His long criminal record suggests that he is a dangerous man."
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Criminal as an adjective (figuratively):
Abhorrent or very undesirable.
Examples:
"Printing such asinine opinions is criminal!"
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Criminal as a noun:
A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law.
Examples:
"synonyms: lawbreaker offender perpetrator"
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Illegal as an adjective:
Contrary to or forbidden by law, especially criminal law.
Examples:
"This is illegal, you know!"
"Nearly 40 million people live in UK areas with illegal air pollution"
"their illegal mining operations in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, are protected by officials and police paid to look the other way – and powerful customers in the construction industry who prefer not to ask too many questions."
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Illegal as an adjective:
Forbidden by established rules.
Examples:
"Moving a pawn backward is an illegal move in chess."
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Illegal as an adjective (philately, of an [[issue]] printed for collectors):
Totally fictitious, and often issued on behalf of a non-existent territory or country.
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Illegal as an adjective (of a person, sometimes, _, offensive):
Being or doing something illegally.
Examples:
"'illegal immigrant; illegal logger; illegal pilot"
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Illegal as an adjective (chiefly, US, sometimes, offensive):
Being an illegal immigrant; residing in a country illegally.
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Illegal as a noun (obsolete):
An illegal act or technique.
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Illegal as a noun (colloquial, plural, as '''''[[illegals]]'''''):
Contraband, esp. illegal substances such as drugs.
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Illegal as a noun (colloquial, offensive):
An illegal immigrant.
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Illegal as a noun (espionage):
A spy working abroad illegally and undercover, without visible ties to his or her country's authorities.