delinquent

noun

de·lin·quent | \ di-ˈliŋ-kwənt

, -ˈlin-\

Definition of delinquent

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a usually young person who regularly performs illegal or immoral acts

delinquent

adjective

Definition of delinquent (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : offending by neglect or violation of duty or of law … were clearly delinquent in not immediately alerting Western Europe to the accident …— Richard Wilson

2 : being overdue in payment a delinquent charge account … efforts to crack down on parents delinquent in child-support payments …— Todd S. Purdum

3 : of, relating to, or characteristic of people who regularly perform illegal or immoral acts : marked by delinquency (see delinquency sense 1b) delinquent behavior

Other Words from delinquent Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about delinquent

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms & Antonyms for delinquent

Synonyms: Adjective

behind, behindhand, belated, late, latish, overdue, tardy

Antonyms: Adjective

early, inopportune, precocious, premature, unseasonable, untimely

Examples of delinquent in a Sentence

Noun

a group of violent delinquents

Adjective

a school for delinquent children His delinquent behavior could lead to more serious problems. The town is trying to collect delinquent taxes.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

There are two payments due each fiscal year, with the last one considered delinquent after April 10. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Property taxes due in 10 days or risk default," 20 June 2019 Or what the Fourth of July used to be like with the young delinquent down the street. — Chris Erskine, San Diego Union-Tribune, "A speedway, a spectacle, a sensational Saturday night," 20 June 2019 The statement also said that through the weeks of protests delinquents and others have been arrested among demonstrators with some trying to steal, harass or be aggressive, the official APS news agency reported. — Nadine Achoui-lesage, The Seattle Times, "Clashes mar peaceful protests as Algerians march anew," 12 Apr. 2019 In contrast to 2015, there were no new steel company bond defaults in 2018 excluding previous delinquents, according to data from Wind. — Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, "Chinese Overcapacity Returns to Haunt Global Industry," 10 Jan. 2019 Keven Paul Mejia, a 27-year-old former security guard from the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, said there were some delinquents traveling with the group of several thousand who smoke marijuana and get drunk. — Julie Watson, The Seattle Times, "Caravan migrants weigh options after court blocks Trump ban," 20 Nov. 2018 For one thing, Richard Beymer as Tony is perhaps the most ineffectual leading man in any major Hollywood musical, and for another, those ballet dancers pretending to be juvenile delinquents never seemed the least bit threatening. — Will Friedwald, WSJ, "‘West Side Story Reimagined’ Review: A Kaleidoscope of Latin Jazz," 16 July 2018 Five firefighters finally had to tranquilize the furry delinquent. — Dasl Yoon, WSJ, "That Raccoon Rooting Through Your Trash Could Be a Big Star in Seoul," 7 Nov. 2018 Ortega’s government has dismissed opponents as delinquents attempting a coup d’etat and wanted to quell unrest in Masaya before Thursday’s three-month anniversary of the start of protests across Nicaragua. — Christopher Sherman, The Seattle Times, "Nicaraguan forces violently retake symbolic city," 17 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

In an interview, Mr. Medina, 50, dismissed any complaints against him as bitterness from delinquent borrowers. — Brian M. Rosenthal, New York Times, "Notorious Debt Collector in Taxi Industry Is Arrested," 2 July 2019 Attorneys who represent delinquent youth say these cases are outliers. — Mary Jo Pitzl, Arizona Republic, "Department of Child Safety doesn't want to house youth who have committed crimes. New law gives time to find alternatives," 27 June 2019 The firm has been a big buyer of once-delinquent precrisis mortgages that borrowers had started making payments on again, known as reperforming loans. — Ben Eisen, WSJ, "Mortgage Bond That Vanished During Financial Crisis Is Back," 24 June 2019 The suit alleged that the borrower became delinquent after one payment and that the government paid a $487,010.33 insurance claim as a result. — Clare Duffy, CNN, "Quicken Loans settles with Federal Housing Authority in fraudulent lending case," 14 June 2019 Meanwhile, Globalscape also filed delinquent financial reports for 2017’s last two quarters and the year, as well as this year’s first quarter. — Patrick Danner, San Antonio Express-News, "San Antonio’s Globalscape restates financial results amid criminal probe," 14 June 2018 The teenager was charged with firearm and delinquent charges including unlawful possession of a firearm, ammunition, and a large capacity feeding device, as well as trespassing. — Sabrina Schnur, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston police arrest teen after armed robbery where pistol with extended clip was found," 19 June 2019 Harford County experienced a significant drop in the number of liens against properties with delinquent tax bills, which were up for this year’s tax sale Monday. — David Anderson, baltimoresun.com, "With taxes owed on 273 fewer properties Harford County recoups more than $800,000 in annual tax sale," 19 June 2019 But DePetris quickly glances over the fact that one of the other four non-delinquent countries is . . — Declan Leary, National Review, "Trump’s Polish Defense Deal," 18 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'delinquent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for delinquent

Noun

earlier, "person failing in a duty, offender," borrowed from Middle French delinquant, noun derivative from present participle of delinquer "to commit an offense," borrowed from Latin dēlinquere "to be lacking, fall short of an approved standard, misbehave, commit (an offense)" — more at delinquent entry 2

Adjective

borrowed from Latin dēlinquent-, dēlinquens, present participle of dēlinquere "to be lacking, fall short of an approved standard, misbehave, commit (an offense)," from dē- de- + linquō, linquere (perfect līquī) "to go away from, leave, leave behind, abandon, desist from," going back to Indo-European *li-n-kw-/*li-né-kw- "leaves behind" (whence also Sanskrit riṇákti "[s/he] leaves behind," Avestan irinaxti, Old Irish léicid "[s/he] lets go, leaves behind"), ar-léici "[s/he] lets go, releases, lends," present tense derivative from the base *lei̯kw- "leave behind, distance oneself from," whence also, with varying ablaut, Greek leípō, leípein (aorist élipon) "to leave, quit, be missing," Armenian likʼ "(s/he) left, let go," Old Prussian polāikt "to remain," Lithuanian liekù, lìkti, Germanic *līhwan- "to grant, lend" (whence Old English lēon "to lend, grant," Old Saxon farlīhan, Old High German līhan, Old Norse ljá, Gothic leihwan "to lend")

Note: The specialization of sense in Germanic (from "leave behind" to "lend") is distinctive and has been variously explained. Attention has been drawn to the derivative *laihna- "something lent," perhaps from "something left as a legacy," with apparent counterparts in Indo-Iranian (see loan entry 1), and it has been argued that the noun's influence has restricted the meaning of the verb (see Antoine Meillet, "Sur le suffixe indo-européen *-nes-," Mémoires de la Société Linguistique de Paris, tome 15 [1908-09], pp. 254-56).

Keep scrolling for more