delinquent
- adjective
- /dɪˈlɪŋkwənt/
- The youth sent to TJJD are the state's most serious or chronically delinquent offenders.
- delinquent behavior
- delinquent youth
- delinquent acts
You say boys are growing up with less involved fathers and are more likely to drop out of school, do drugs, become delinquent and end up in prison.
- You say boys are growing up with less involved fathers and are more likely to drop out of school, do drugs, become delinquent and end up in prison.
- Now, my friends, my delinquent friends in junior high and high school, a lot of them became Alcoholics.
- And it takes me back to my childhood where there was there was that line that I speak about where I was doing juvenile delinquent stuff, just crazy things that kids do.
Examples
-
Last thing I need is to deal with the cops over some juvenile delinquent with a big vocabulary.
-
Sweetheart, you're a delinquent.
-
Just a juvenile delinquent at heart.
-
How does it feel to be a juvenile delinquent?
-
Dutch scientists found that the closer a person lives to delinquent friends, the more likely they are to engage in similar behaviors.
-
By being involved in this competition, you've brought delinquent behavior into my school and put my students at risk.
-
All of your children are delinquent, Mrs. Little, and one, at least, Malcolm, is a thief.
Fiction book (1992) -
However, low parental control may be the primary culprit, setting the stage for all sorts of delinquent behavior.
Academic text (2008) -
Problem children and children adjudged as delinquent often come from single-parent homes with the father absent.
Academic text (1992) -
The school counselor is worried about the number of delinquent behaviors among students in this area.
Synonyms
Acts against rules people follow and hurts or upsets others
Antonyms
Compounds
A young person under 18 who breaks the law, for example by stealing or damaging things
A person who does not pay money they owe to a bank or credit company on time
How Antisocial
Surface Forms
Etymology
Delinquent comes from the Latin parts de- 'away' and linquere 'leave'. That's why we call people 'delinquent' when they have 'left' their duties and break the rules.