1
: one who has committed a felony
2
archaic
: villain
3
: a painful abscess of the deep tissues of the palmar surface of the fingertip that is typically caused by bacterial infection (as with a staphylococcus) and is marked by swelling and pain compare whitlow sense 1
Examples of felon in a Sentence
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Ryan Smith, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025
That reality comes into sharp focus Monday when President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office as the first felon to do so after Bragg’s office formally secured his criminal conviction less than two weeks ago.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 19 Jan. 2025
Washington Post, 28 July 2021
One was to turn most of the felon population over to the U.S. government.
—Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2021
See all Example Sentences for felon 
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Noun
How Much Have Trump's Legal Troubles Cost? Trump is on course to be first ever convicted felon to be sworn in as U.S. president, after he was found guilty last May of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
—Ryan Smith, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025
That reality comes into sharp focus Monday when President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office as the first felon to do so after Bragg’s office formally secured his criminal conviction less than two weeks ago.
—Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
And despite a ban on felon possession of weapons, law enforcement searches of his Upper Peninsula home on Jan. 19 turned up a Russian SKS rifle, two shotguns, a Glock pistol and more than 100 rounds of ammunition, prosecutors said.
—Washington Post, 28 July 2021
One was to turn most of the felon population over to the U.S. government.
—Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2021
See all Example Sentences for felon
Dictionary Entries Near felon
Cite this Entry
“Felon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felon. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
felon
noun
fel·on
ˈfe-lən 
: one who has committed a felony
Etymology
Noun
Anglo-French felon, fel, literally, evildoer, from Old French, probably of Germanic origin
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