desperado vs criminal

desperado and criminal both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
desperado	Yes	No	No	No
criminal	Yes	Yes	No	No

As nouns, criminal is a hypernym of desperado; that is, criminal is a word with a broader meaning than desperado:

desperado: a bold outlaw (especially on the American frontier)
criminal: someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

Other hypernyms of desperado include crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw.

desperado (noun)	criminal (noun)
a bold outlaw (especially on the American frontier)	someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

desperado (adjective)	criminal (adjective)
	guilty of crime or serious offense
	involving or being or having the nature of a crime
	bringing or deserving severe rebuke or censure