kriminaalne

Kriminaalne is an Estonian adjective meaning related to crime or criminal; it is used to describe acts, people, or phenomena associated with crime. In law, criminology, journalism, and policy discussions, the term marks something as characteristic of crime or of criminals. Common collocations include kriminaalne käitumine (criminal behavior), kriminaalne maailm (criminal underworld), and kriminaalne tegevus (criminal activity).

Kriminaalne is a loanword in Estonian, with cognates in other European languages such as German kriminell and English criminal. It entered Estonian through contact with Western European languages and is now part of standard legal and academic vocabulary.

It coexists with kuritegelik, another common Estonian adjective meaning criminal; kuritegelik is often used in everyday language, while kriminaalne tends to appear in formal, technical, or academic contexts such as legislation, criminology, and media reporting on crime. Related terms include kriminaalõigus (criminal law), kriminaalpoliitika (crime policy), and kuritegevus (crime).