malefactor vs felon

malefactor and felon both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
malefactor	Yes	No	No	No
felon	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, malefactor and felon are synonyms defined as:

malefactor and felon: someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

Other synonyms of malefactor include criminal, crook, outlaw.

malefactor (noun)	felon (noun)
someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime	someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
	a purulent infection at the end of a finger or toe in the area surrounding the nail