bad actor
The term "bad actor" is often used to describe individuals or entities that behave unethically or maliciously, commonly in legal, financial, or cybersecurity contexts.
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Definition
B2General
(idiomatic)A person with malicious intent or who behaves unethically.
Example
- The company had to deal with a bad actor who was leaking confidential information.
C1Law
(idiomatic, legal)An individual or entity with prior criminal convictions or sanctions.
Example
- The court identified him as a bad actor due to his previous fraud charges.
C1Cybersecurity
(idiomatic, technical)An entity that engages in harmful activities like hacking or spreading malware.
Example
- The cybersecurity team traced the breach back to a bad actor in a foreign country.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "bad actor":
bad showbad eggcrisis actorbad businessbad namebad upno-good ass