跟犯罪有關的
最貼近錨點的一族：直接扣在「crime（犯法的行為）」上——那個行為，以及做出那個行為的人。
connected with crime · adjective · B1
Connected with crime, or breaking the law.
犯罪的
核心畫面
You can picture criminal as everything that hangs on a 'crime' — an act the law has marked as an offence. The plainest picture is 'to do with crime': the act, and the person who does it. From that one anchor the word reaches in three directions — to the whole machinery of law and courts that deals with such acts ('criminal law'), to the person themselves (the criminal, the one who did it), and, more loosely, to something so wrong or unfair that it feels like a crime even though no law was broken.
可以把 criminal 想成一切掛在「crime（罪／犯法的行為）」上的東西——一個被法律標記為罪的行為。最樸素的…更多收起
可以把 criminal 想成一切掛在「crime（罪／犯法的行為）」上的東西——一個被法律標記為罪的行為。最樸素的畫面比較像「跟犯罪有關」：那個行為，以及做那件事的人。從這個錨點，字往三個方向伸出去——伸向處理這類行為的整套法律與法庭機制（criminal law，刑法），伸向那個人本身（the criminal，做那件事的人），還有比較鬆的一種：某件事錯得、不公得太離譜，雖然沒犯法，卻讓人覺得簡直像在犯罪。From the word’s history
From Late Latin 'criminalis' ← Latin 'crimen' (a charge, indictment, accusation; then the offence itself). Because the root sits at the point where an act is formally charged before the law, the word naturally covers both the wrongful act ('connected with crime') and the legal apparatus that judges it ('criminal law / criminal court').
源自晚期拉丁文 criminalis ← 拉丁文 crimen（指控、起訴、控告；後來也指罪行本身）。因為字根正好落在「一個行為被正式提到法律面前受控」這個點上，所以這個字自然同時涵蓋了那個違法的行為（跟犯罪有關）以及審理它的那套法律機制（criminal law 刑法、criminal court 刑事法庭）。
etymonline.com/word/criminal; etymonline.com/word/crime
Three branches
刑事的（法律機制）
從「那個行為」移到「審理那個行為的整套法律與法庭」：crimen 本來就是把行為提到法律面前受控，所以同一個字也罩住了刑法這一塊。
criminal (legal system) · adjective · B1
Connected with the part of the law and the courts that deals with crime.
刑事的
離譜得像犯罪
把「犯罪」這個重字借來當誇張的尺：事情其實沒犯法，但錯得、浪費得太過分，於是用「簡直像犯罪」來放大那份不該。
outrageous, shameful · adjective · B1
So wrong or unfair that it almost seems like a crime, even though it is not.
太離譜的
原始詞典資料5 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
criminaladj/ˈkɹɪm.ɪ.nəl/
- 1
Against the law; forbidden by law.
- Foppish and fantastic ornaments are only indications of vice, not criminal in themselves.
- 2
Guilty of breaking the law.
- The neglect of any of the relative duties renders us criminal in the sight of God.
- 3
Of or relating to crime or penal law.
- His long criminal record suggests that he is a dangerous man.
- The officers and servants of the crown, violating the personal liberty, or other right of the subject […] in some cases, were liable to criminal process.
- 4
Abhorrent or very undesirable.
- Printing such asinine opinions is criminal!
- [...] I think it represents exceptional value for money and I think it would be criminal not to go ahead and build it."
criminalnoun/ˈkɹɪm.ɪ.nəl/
- 1
A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law.
- ‘[…] There's every Staffordshire crime-piece ever made in this cabinet, and that's unique. The Van Hoyer Museum in New York hasn't that very rare second version of Maria Marten's Red Barn over there, nor the little Frederick George Manning—he was the criminal Dickens saw hanged on the roof of the gaol in Horsemonger Lane, by the way—’
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。