violator vs criminal

violator and criminal both are nouns.

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

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

violator: someone who violates the law
criminal: someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

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

violator (noun)	criminal (noun)
someone who assaults others sexually	someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
someone who violates the law

violator (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