culprit

/ˈkʌlprɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈkʌlprɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈkəl-prət -ˌprit/ (ame, mw)

culprit — noun

  • culpritsingular
  • culpritsplural

1. the person who carried out a bad act, broke a rule, or committed a crime that so

1.名詞B2
釋義

the person who carried out a bad act, broke a rule, or committed a crime that someone is now trying to identify or punish.

例句

Police arrested two teenage culprits behind the graffiti at the train station.

the culprit(s) behind [an act]

Christopher checked the kitchen camera to find out which dog was the culprit.

be the culprit (identifying who did it)

同義詞
  • offender

    more formal and legal; used in courts and reports

  • wrongdoer

    broader, less crime-focused; covers moral as well as legal faults

  • perpetrator

    very formal; standard in police and news reporting

反義詞
  • victim

    the person harmed rather than the one who caused the harm

文法句型

the culprit

catch/identify/find the culprit

用法筆記

Often used by police, journalists, and investigators when the doer of a wrong act is not yet named. Frequently follows 'catch', 'identify', 'find', or 'arrest', and often appears with 'the main/real/likely + culprit'.

常見錯誤

❌A culprit shouted at his wife last night.
✅A man shouted at his wife last night.
💡'culprit' implies an investigation or accusation, not just any wrongdoing in passing.
❌He was a culprit of murder.
✅He was the culprit in the murder case.' / 'He was charged with murder.
💡say 'culprit in/behind [the act]', not 'culprit of'.

2. a thing, condition, or activity that turns out to be what makes a bad result hap

2.名詞B2
釋義

a thing, condition, or activity that turns out to be what makes a bad result happen — used after people have looked into the trouble and found out what is to blame.

例句

Doctors told Stefan that too much salt was the main culprit behind his high blood pressure.

the culprit behind [a problem]

When the engine overheated, a cracked hose turned out to be the culprit.

turn out to be the culprit

同義詞
  • cause

    neutral; does not imply blame, just what produced the result

  • source

    where something starts; less judgmental than 'culprit'

  • reason

    more general; can be good or bad, while 'culprit' is always bad

文法句型

the culprit is X

X is the culprit

用法筆記

Distinct from sense 1: here the 'culprit' is not a person but a thing or situation. Almost always appears in 'the culprit' or 'X is the culprit', often after an investigation or diagnosis. Followed by 'behind', 'for', or 'in', not 'of'.

常見錯誤

❌The culprit of the slow website is the old server.
✅The culprit behind the slow website is the old server.
💡use 'behind' or 'for', not 'of'.
❌A loud fan is a culprit in my office.
✅A loud fan is the culprit in my office.
💡this sense almost always takes 'the', because you are naming the one identified cause.