noun
A somewhat formal or literary term for a criminal act or offense. Not an everyday word; more likely encountered in legal or historical contexts.
彼は凶状を犯して捕らえられた。
He committed a crime and was captured.
犯罪 is the common, everyday word for 'crime'. 凶状 is much rarer and carries a more formal or literary tone.
Compound of 凶 (bad, evil) and 状 (condition, circumstances), literally 'evil circumstances'. The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of crime.