English Lexicon

Plaintiff

/ˈpleɪn.tɪf/
nounCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A person who brings a case against another in a court of law.

    "The plaintiff filed a lawsuit seeking damages for the injuries sustained in the accident."
  2. 2

    In civil law, the party who initiates a legal action.

    "As the plaintiff, she had the burden of proof to establish her claims."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'plaintiff' originates from the Old French word 'plaintif', meaning 'complaining' or 'lamenting', which itself comes from the Latin 'plangere', meaning 'to lament or strike'. The word evolved in the legal context to refer to a person who brings a case against another in a court of law.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Plaintiff"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Plaintiff"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Plaintiff" Synonym Map