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delinquent

delinquent

23 6.6
Tending to commit crimes or behave badly
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈlɪŋkwənt/
translation icon : delincuente
  • 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.

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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

dissocial
vsdelinquent
  • UK
8.9

Acts against rules people follow and hurts or upsets others

shows a tendency to commit crime rather than merely breaking social rules

Antonyms

63 3.4

Following the law and not breaking rules

25 2.8

Polite and calm around other people

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

delinquent
23 6.6
dangerous
1.5
troublesome
49 3.9
law-abiding
63 3.4

Surface Forms

delinquent positive

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.