bad actor
noun
plural bad actors
: a person, group, country, etc. who purposely and usually repeatedly engages in very bad behavior (such as committing crimes or causing harm to others)
Giving users a way to prove that they're being harassed with, say, a screenshot or some other form of authentication could help Twitter catch bad actors, even after they've covered their tracks.—
Issie Lapowsky
Issie LapowskyA perennial diplomatic bad actor, North Korea has already rattled its sabers at the opening of the Obama administration.—Alex Kingsbury
Alex Kingsbury"We've got to break away from the notion," as the U.A.W.'s [United Auto Workers] director of public relations, Peter G. Laarman, puts it, "that labor is a 'bad actor' in the economy. …"—Harry Stein
Harry Stein
also
: something that causes trouble, danger, or a problem
The bad actor in male pattern hair loss is DHT, a metabolic product of testosterone. —Jane E. Brody
Jane E. Brody We have special ducts throughout the vapor bath that carry away all the toxic bad actors. —PC Today
PC Today Examples of bad actor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Political campaigns and bad actors also have weaponized highly realistic images, videos and audio content to scam, mislead and disenfranchise voters.
—Ali Swenson, Fortune, 22 May 2024
Creditors don't verify the age of applicants, so a bad actor could potentially open a credit card without anyone noticing until the kid becomes an adult and wants a card of their own.
—Andrew Limbong, NPR, 20 May 2024
Congress must keep up the oversight effort and hold bad actors accountable.
—The Editors, National Review, 17 May 2024
Federal officials have also warned that bad actors from within the U.S. are behind some of the attacks.
—Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 15 May 2024
In the letter, Nissan North America said a bad actor attacked a company virtual private network and demanded payment.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 15 May 2024
Unfortunately, there are a small number of bad actors who decide to breach contract terms or refuse to pay rent.
—Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
The review found that bad actors were rarely punished, but instead simply transferred or even promoted.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 7 May 2024
The agency has only about 30 people assigned to review 7,000 applications, and lacks the capacity to stop some bad actors from gaming the system.
—James Barron, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2024
Ali Swenson, Fortune, 22 May 2024
Creditors don't verify the age of applicants, so a bad actor could potentially open a credit card without anyone noticing until the kid becomes an adult and wants a card of their own.
—Andrew Limbong, NPR, 20 May 2024
Congress must keep up the oversight effort and hold bad actors accountable.
—The Editors, National Review, 17 May 2024
Federal officials have also warned that bad actors from within the U.S. are behind some of the attacks.
—Minnah Arshad, USA TODAY, 15 May 2024
In the letter, Nissan North America said a bad actor attacked a company virtual private network and demanded payment.
—Khristopher J. Brooks, CBS News, 15 May 2024
Unfortunately, there are a small number of bad actors who decide to breach contract terms or refuse to pay rent.
—Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
The review found that bad actors were rarely punished, but instead simply transferred or even promoted.
—Scott Horsley, NPR, 7 May 2024
The agency has only about 30 people assigned to review 7,000 applications, and lacks the capacity to stop some bad actors from gaming the system.
—James Barron, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bad actor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near bad actor
Cite this Entry
“Bad actor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bad%20actor. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share