juvenile delinquent

noun

as in offender
a young person who has committed a crime

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of juvenile delinquent The docuseries also details Gabriel's younger years as a juvenile delinquent. — Daniela Avila, PEOPLE, 1 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for juvenile delinquent
  1. tough
  2. gangster
  3. mobster
  4. ruffian
  5. thug
  6. hoodlum
  7. punk
  8. criminal
Noun
  • And Susan Collins, as Democrats have seen time and time again, is a real tough out.
    — NBC news, NBC news, 21 June 2026
  • In that version, the character is played by Joe Don Baker, the great character actor known for playing toughs in films like Walking Tall (1973) and Fletch (1985).
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
Definition of tough
Noun
  • Ritchson plays a tough guy who falls for a local gangster’s girl.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 21 July 2026
  • Remember all those fake memoirs from the early 2000s, by all those writers pretending to be addicts and gangsters and Holocaust survivors?
    — James Parker, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
Definition of gangster
Noun
  • Fortunately, Dusse lightens the lawyer’s spiral into his mobster client’s dark underworld with wry humor and pointed skewering of both the wellness industry and the criminal legal profession.
    — The Know, Denver Post, 5 July 2026
  • Famous former inmates include mobster Whitey Bulger and, rather surprisingly, Henry David Thoreau.
    — Andrew Sessa, Robb Report, 2 July 2026
Definition of mobster
Noun
  • Interestingly, that cigar-smoking biker ruffian was not a character in the DC Comics title of a few years back.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 5 June 2026
  • The series has lent a cinematic gangster attraction to the Peaky Blinders, yet the term itself was not one gang — as depicted in the show — but a generic expression from the late 19th century for the ‘street ruffians’ of Birmingham, born out of the city’s ring of poverty.
    — Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2026
Definition of ruffian
Noun
  • Threatening to limit mail-in voting, adding ridiculous ID requirements, or staging thugs at polling places are other possible ways to convince you to stay home.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 6 July 2026
  • To be sure, the thugs of Hamas and Hezbollah committed a horrific massacre of young Jewish civilians enjoying a music festival on October 7, 2023.
    — DP Opinion, Denver Post, 6 July 2026
Definition of thug
Noun
  • Also in his orbit are a consortium of crooks, including his cousin Freddie, a hip junkie, and Pepper, a taciturn hoodlum who was friends with Ray’s dad, Big Mike, a legendary thief.
    — Niela Orr, Vulture, 20 July 2026
  • In the past decade, the leadership of the Kinahan organization has become rich and cosmopolitan, and their life styles have started to resemble those of international businessmen more than of street hoodlums.
    — Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2026
Definition of hoodlum
Noun
  • Across their past two albums, Yard Act injected funk bass back into post-punk to make listeners dance.
    — Kiana Mickles, Pitchfork, 17 July 2026
  • High Plains also proved that comedy could be a cool, underground pursuit similar to punk and indie rock, while still attracting general crowds with diverse lineups, styles and venues.
    — John Wenzel, Denver Post, 16 July 2026
Definition of punk
Noun
  • California has some of the nation’s toughest gun laws, but state lawmakers are concerned that a new technology is allowing criminals to obtain firearms by building them from scratch.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026
  • This lengthy process was typical of ICE’s previous procedures to track down criminals, Sandweg said, which may have shifted under the demands of this administration’s daily arrest goals.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Definition of criminal

Browse Nearby Words

juvenile
juvenile delinquent
juvenile delinquents
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Cite this Entry

“Juvenile delinquent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/juvenile%20delinquent. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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