accomplice
noun
Simple meaning
An associate in the commission of a crime.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhkahmpluhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈkɑmpləs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
law
An associate in the commission of a crime; a participator in an offense, whether a principal or an accessory.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An associate in the commission of a crime; a participator in an offense, whether a principal or an accessory.
An 'accomplice' is a partner in crime, someone who knowingly helps another commit an illegal act. This word carries a strong negative connotation and is almost exclusively used in legal or crime-related contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where you'll really hear it
Police reports
“The suspect and his accomplice fled the scene.”
True crime documentaries
“She was found guilty as an accomplice to the robbery.”
Courtroom drama
“The lawyer questioned the accomplice about the getaway car.”
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Nearby words
- accessary , a specialist term, precise but narrower
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: associate in the commission of a crime
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.