kriminell

criminal, illegal

adjective kri-mi-NEL Rare

Origin: from Latin criminalis

Usage Note

kriminell describes both people (kriminelle Organisation — criminal organisation) and acts (kriminelles Verhalten — criminal behaviour); colloquially it is used hyperbolically, e.g. Das ist ja kriminell billig! (That's outrageously cheap!).

Examples

"Die Bande war jahrelang kriminell aktiv."

Natural Translation

The gang was criminally active for years.

Literal Translation

The gang was years-long criminally active.

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