war criminal
Geneva Convention violator
A war criminal is a person who has committed violations of the laws of war—crimes such as torture, killing civilians, or mistreatment of prisoners.
The term gained currency after World War II with the Nuremberg trials.
In loose usage, war criminal serves as an accusation against military or political leaders whose actions caused mass suffering: Protesters called the former president a war criminal.
- genocideSystematic annihilation of a people
- NaziGerman fascist party member
- atrocityUnforgivable mass cruelty
- ethnic cleansingSystematic removal of populations
- HolocaustNazi genocide of Jews
convicted · tyrant · perpetrator · crimes against humanity · superior orders · tribunal · concentration camps · death squad · dictator · prosecution · show trial · mass murderer · ICC · international law · inhumanity · post-war justice · massacre · crime
- criminalsmurderer, thief, burglar, killer, robber
- attackersaggressor, assailant, attacker, assaulter, ambusher
- controversial figuresdictator, tyrant, demagogue, extremist, despot
- war crimescrimes against humanity, Nuremberg, war crimes tribunals, prisoner abuse, summary execution
- villainsvillain, antagonists, Darth Vader, evil characters, Joker
- fugitivesfugitive, escapee, escaped convict, runaway, prison escapee
war criminalprisoner of war
Detained military personnel
peacekeeper · civilian · noncombatant · medic · military chaplain
war criminalwar hero
One honored for combat bravery
humanitarian · peacemaker · liberator · savior · Oskar Schindler
criminal, militant, wartime, criminality, warmonger, militarism, criminally, war crime, criminalize