juvenile delinquent
12
5.3
- noun
- /ˈdʒuːvənɪl dɪˈlɪŋkwənt/
:
delincuente juvenil
- Look, Detective Connolly, Mr. Puccinaldi was a childhood friend, and I am truly devastated over his tragic death, as well as the revelation that apparently he hadn't put the habits of his juvenile delinquent past behind him.
- correctional facility for juvenile delinquents
- facility for juvenile delinquents
- treatment of juvenile delinquents
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.
- 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
-
Mickey Rooney was there too, and we were honored as reformed juvenile delinquents.
Fiction book (1990) -
After a series of minor offenses, he was labeled a juvenile delinquent and required to attend counseling sessions.
-
Those, no, listen, those kids were juvenile delinquents.
-
How does it feel to be a juvenile delinquent?
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That juvenile delinquent has been nothing but trouble since he got here.
-
I asked if he could recommend any good books about juvenile delinquents.
Academic text (2003) -
Most studies agree on the general characteristics of juvenile delinquents.
Academic text (2013) -
According to the results, juvenile delinquents expressed the view that overall the courses were sufficient.
Academic text (2010) -
The main purpose of the academic, vocational, or social classes held for juvenile delinquents is their decarceration by the community.
Academic text (2010) -
Payton is fourteen, a budding juvenile delinquent who dug tire tracks in the yard last week.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
20
6.1
A young person who commits crimes or behaves badly
8
9.9
A young person in trouble with the law
How Criminal
∞
2.1
304
3.5
12
5.3
- Offensive
69
4.1
63
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituent words transparently contribute to the overall meaning: 'juvenile' = a young person and 'delinquent' = someone who commits illegal acts, so together they denote a young person who has committed offenses. This is a straightforward compositional noun phrase following common adjective+noun patterns (and has clear parallels in many languages), so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Juvenile delinquent combines juvenile (a 'young person') and delinquent (someone who 'breaks rules or the law'), so the picture is of a youth who fails to follow the law; that image is why the phrase means 'a young person who commits crimes'.