juvenile delinquency

noun

1

: conduct by a juvenile characterized by antisocial behavior that is beyond parental control and therefore subject to legal action

2

: a violation of the law committed by a juvenile and not punishable by death or life imprisonment

juvenile delinquent noun

Examples of juvenile delinquency in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Arizona’s and Wisconsin’s self-disclosure forms, which USA TODAY reviewed, ask about criminal convictions and school discipline but not lawsuits or juvenile delinquency proceedings. —Kenny Jacoby, USA Today, 13 July 2023

Seven schools ask athletes a question about juvenile delinquency proceedings. —Kenny Jacoby, USA Today, 13 July 2023

Police arrested the boys suspected in both hotel incidents, and prosecutors charged them under the juvenile delinquency code. —Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2023

Names are associated with real-world outcomes such as income, education, and juvenile delinquency. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 16 May 2023

The Payne Fund Studies began to (unsuccessfully) link the rise of juvenile delinquency with Hollywood movies. —Chris Yogerst, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022

The Broadway stylization of American youth (created by Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim) was so empathetic toward rock ’n’ roll, juvenile delinquency, and restless urban subcultures that when the film version appeared, adults and teenagers all accepted it. —Armond White, National Review, 10 Dec. 2021

This 1967 classic stars Sidney Poitier — who died last month at age 94 — as an out-of-work engineer who has taken a teaching job at a high school and works wonders with a class full of rude, crude young Brits teetering on the brink of juvenile delinquency. —Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2022

Lead Crime Hypothesis For decades, some in the criminal justice, medical and economic communities have believed that lead exposure contributes to juvenile delinquency and crime. —Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 7 Apr. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1816, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

juvenile delinquency

noun

: violation of the law (as stealing) or antisocial behavior (as playing hooky from school) by a young person

Medical Definition

juvenile delinquency

noun

1

: conduct by a juvenile characterized by antisocial behavior that is subject to legal action

2

: a violation of the law committed by a juvenile that would have been a crime if committed by an adult

Legal Definition

juvenile delinquency

noun

: a violation of the law committed by a juvenile that would have been a crime if committed by an adult

also : antisocial behavior by juveniles that is subject to legal action