felony

noun

Definition of felonynext
as in crime
law a serious criminal act (such as murder or rape) The crime is considered a felony under state law. He was convicted of committing a felony.

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of felony On Monday, the second suspect, Kyle Thurman, 25, was arrested by U.S. Marshals and is expected to be transferred to East Baton Rouge Parish Prison and charged with felony hazing, according to Nola.com. — Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 11 Mar. 2025 The suspect faces four counts of first-degree murder and a felony burglary charge and could face execution by firing squad if convicted. — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 10 Mar. 2025 Worthy was arrested Friday, a month after the conclusion of his rookie season with the Kansas City Chiefs, and booked into jail on suspicion of assault of a family member by impeding breathing/circulation, a third-degree felony. — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 10 Mar. 2025 Capital felony murder charges were filed against two of the escapees, and other charges were pending against all four inmates, authorities said. — The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 1 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for felony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for felony
  1. crime
  2. trespass
  3. misdemeanor
  4. violation
Noun
  • Gus Van Sant’s upcoming crime feature Dead Man’s Wire and Dustin Hoffman drama The Revisionist nabbed incentives to shoot in the locale.
    — Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Karma revolves around a fateful accident, which intertwines six lives in a tale of karma and crime, where each must face their own dark truths and connections.
    — Sara Merican, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of crime
Noun
  • Protesters are facing charges of trespass and resisting arrest, according to the New York Police Department.
    — Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Along with claims of trespass and nuisance, Energy Transfer alleges that Greenpeace defamed the company to its financial backers.
    — Jennifer Safstrom, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of trespass
Noun
  • Lynchburg Commonwealth’s Attorney Office confirmed to Fox News Digital Wednesday that one misdemeanor charge of assault and battery jad been filed over the incident.
    — Jackson Thompson, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Bethany Harrison, the commonwealth's attorney for the city of Lynchburg, confirmed to ABC News on Wednesday that a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery was issued against Everett in the matter.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of misdemeanor
Noun
  • Israeli military operations inside Gaza have continued since the ceasefire began – in response, the IDF has said, to threats to its troops or Hamas violations, but there has been a decline in casualties.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Our goal every game is to force our opponents have a shot clock violation (90 seconds).
    — Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of violation

Browse Nearby Words

felons
felony
felt
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Felony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/felony. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on felony

Nglish: Translation of felony for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about felony

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Words You Always Have to Look Up

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Top 10 Sophisticated Insults

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All