drug dealer vs criminal

drug dealer and criminal both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
drug dealer	Yes	No	No	No
criminal	Yes	Yes	No	No

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

drug dealer: an unlicensed dealer in illegal drugs
criminal: someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

Other hypernyms of drug dealer include crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw, dealer.

drug dealer (noun)	criminal (noun)
an unlicensed dealer in illegal drugs	someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

drug dealer (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