- 1[usually before noun] connected with or involving crime criminal offenses/behavior criminal damage (= the crime of damaging someone's property deliberately) criminal negligence (= the illegal act of someone failing to do something that they should do, with the result that someone else is harmed)
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- 2[only before noun] connected to the laws that deal with crime criminal law the criminal justice system a criminal lawyer to bring criminal charges against someone compare civil
- 3morally wrong This is a criminal waste of resources.
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