delinquent

noun

Save Word

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

Antonyms: Adjective

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 Sometimes, the social contract is made explicit, such as when a delinquent like Jolovan Wham mounts an unconscionable challenge to it. — The Economist, "Singapore’s ruling clique loses its reputation for predictability," 17 Apr. 2021 Of the 36 million borrowers who would have their student loans erased entirely, 9.4 million are in default or delinquent on their loans, the data also revealed. — Sarah Ewall-wice, CBS News, "Canceling $50,000 in student loan debt could wipe out burden for 84% of borrowers," 13 Apr. 2021 This week, prosecutors sought to postpone the boy's adjudication as a delinquent, citing the new appeal. — Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Prosecutors appealing decision to treat 15-year-old charged in Mayfar mall shooting as juvenile," 7 Apr. 2021 Robert was adjudicated delinquent at 14 for a felony-level offense. — Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, "'He deserved better:' Mom of teen who died in detention will protest on her son's birthday," 30 Mar. 2021 They are charged with delinquent to wit: unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm, and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling. — Charlie Mckenna, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston police arrest boys, 15 and 17, on weapons charges," 1 Mar. 2021 The possibility of being declared a delinquent was very real, but nearly everything else Margaret was told was a lie. — New York Times, "Adoption Used to Be Hush-Hush. This Book Amplifies the Human Toll.," 22 Jan. 2021 DeVos has also authorized an automatic suspension of payments for any borrower more than 31 days delinquent as of March 13, 2020, or who becomes more than 31 days delinquent. — Eric Stirgus, ajc, "Trump suspends federal student loan payments for 60 days," 20 Mar. 2020 County records say 32,000 Detroit properties are tax delinquent, suggest that 25,500 are occupied and that roughly 8,300 are designated occupied and likely to be foreclosed. — Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press, "Whitmer bans tax foreclosures statewide during coronavirus threat," 18 Mar. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective In 2019, the General Assembly passed legislation barring the city from sending homes to tax sale solely based upon delinquent water bills. — Emily Opilo, baltimoresun.com, "Under pressure from advocates, Baltimore to remove owner-occupied homes from annual tax sale," 3 May 2021 Section 4: allows the court to order an investigation in pending juvenile matters for juvenile’s previously adjudicated as delinquent for or convicted of felony offense (i.e., larceny, stealing a firearm, or certain violent offenses). — courant.com, "Community News For The Wethersfield Edition," 30 Apr. 2021 Long gone are the days when a part-time Blockbuster employee sick with power was tasked with hounding delinquent movie renters who, for one reason or another, just couldn’t bring themselves to return that VHS on time. — Danielle Campoamor, refinery29.com, "This Woman Faced Felony Charges For Not Returning A Sabrina The Teenage Witch VHS," 26 Apr. 2021 Too many of the bits feel like outtakes from a Jim Carrey comedy, but stick around for the clever sixth episode, in which Brendan pops up as a delinquent dad. — Tim Campbell, Star Tribune, "10 best things our critics are watching this week," 15 Apr. 2021 That’s up from the pre-pandemic late loan rate of 3.5% but less than the 8% delinquent mortgage rate during the worst of the COVID-19 lockdowns. — Steve Brown, Dallas News, "More Dallas-Fort Worth homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments," 13 Apr. 2021 The researchers found that the child who was hit or yelled at more often was consistently more likely to display delinquent or antisocial behavior. — Washington Post, "Americans are still spanking their kids. A new study shows how harmful that is.," 12 Apr. 2021 Because he has been adjudicated delinquent before and is now facing felony charges, the public and news media can have limited access to his hearings. — Bruce Vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Prosecutors appealing decision to treat 15-year-old charged in Mayfar mall shooting as juvenile," 7 Apr. 2021 As sales waned, the mall’s owner, Knoxville Partners, became delinquent on roughly $600,000 in property taxes. — NBC News, "Amazon is snapping up disused shopping malls and turning them into fulfillment centers," 5 Apr. 2021

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-k^w-/*li-né-k^w- "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 *lei̯k^w- "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