murderer

murderer — 名詞

1. a person whom a court has found guilty of taking the life of another person on p

1.名詞B2
釋義

兇手

故意非法殺人者

a person whom a court has found guilty of taking the life of another person on purpose and without any legal right to do so

例句

The police arrested Lakan after finding evidence that he was the murderer.

警方在找到證據後逮捕了 Lakan，確認他就是兇手。

arrest + murderer: police-news pattern

Jisoo's family waited years for the murderer of their daughter to face trial.

Jisoo 的家人等了許多年，終於等到殺害他們女兒的兇手接受審判。

murderer of [victim]: specific victim pattern

同義詞
  • killer

    broader term — includes those who kill by accident, in self-defence, or in war; not necessarily illegal or intentional

  • assassin

    a murderer who kills a well-known person for political reasons or payment; more specific and dramatic

  • slayer

    very formal or literary term; carries an archaic or epic tone, not used in everyday speech

  • hitman

    informal term for a murderer paid to kill someone, usually by a criminal organisation

文法句型

a/the murderer

murderer of [person killed]

convicted/alleged/suspected murderer

用法筆記

In formal legal contexts, the term is typically used only after a person has been found guilty in court; before conviction, terms such as 'suspect' or 'the accused' are preferred. In news reporting, however, 'murderer' is often used more broadly for someone believed to have committed murder.

常見錯誤

❌The driver who accidentally ran over the pedestrian is a murderer.
✅The driver who accidentally ran over the pedestrian killed someone but is not a murderer.
💡a murderer acts on purpose; accidental killing is not murder.
❌The soldier killed an enemy soldier, so he is a murderer.
✅Killing in war is not usually called murder, so the soldier is not a murderer in legal terms.
💡murder refers to unlawful killing; killings in war are judged by different rules.