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suborner

suborner

1 9.9
A person who gets someone to do something illegal, often by paying them
  • noun
  • /səˈbɔrnər/
  • Formal
translation icon : subornador
  • The court charged him as a suborner for trying to convince others to commit fraud.

Examples

  • During the trial, the prosecutor identified the defendant as a suborner who bribed officials to ignore his illegal activities.

  • Such bêtes noires as the Koch Brothers were mentioned as well, as suborners of climate deniers.

    Blog text (21)
  • The investigation revealed that he was a suborner who paid witnesses to alter their testimonies.

Synonyms

agent provocateur
vssuborner
3 9.9

A person who secretly encourages others to break the law to make them look guilty

induces people to commit illegal acts often in return for payment
seducer
vssuborner
1 6.9

A person who tries to make others do wrong things

induces wrongdoing more by offering payment than by temptation
corruptor
vssuborner
1 7.3

A person or thing that makes people dishonest

focuses on prompting specific illegal acts often through payment

Antonyms

324 6.2

A person who tells authorities about secret illegal acts in an organization to stop harm

How Responsible

ringleader
33 6.4
suborner
  • Formal
1 9.9
instigator
12 6.8
briber
1 7.3

Surface Forms

suborner singular
suborners plural

Morphology

suborner = suborn (opaque) = sub + orn + er

The verb 'suborn' is not commonly known, and its meaning is not easily inferred from its components.

Etymology

Suborner comes from the verb suborn, built from Latin parts sub- 'under' and ornare 'to arrange', and it shares the root with English words like adorn and ornament. So a suborner is someone who secretly 'arranges' or persuades another to do something wrong, often by paying them.