RECIDIVIST Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

recidivist

noun

Definition of recidivist

as in offender

formal a person who continues to commit crimes even after being caught and punished

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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 recidivist Electronic monitoring and house arrest are heavily weighted as options for certain recidivist offenders. — Greg Norman , Charles Creitz, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2025 Gerald Ford, who was President during the peak of the arson wave, publicly mentioned the Bronx just once, to go by the American Presidency Project, and that was to commend Merola’s office for locking up recidivists. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025 Another inspection list recidivist in March, Sang’s is a member of Miami-Dade’s Wretched Restaurant Row, restaurants along 167th Street/163rd Street that have failed inspection, often with an earth’s core deep level of disgusting violations. — David J. Neal updated August 8, Miami Herald, 8 Aug. 2025 Yet this seemingly entirely unnecessary act of recidivist safeguarding was how Tristan da Cunha came to be populated. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 23 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for recidivist

Recent Examples of Synonyms for recidivist

Noun

Those illicit techniques include attaching a GPS tracker to a car or using cell-tower data to track a potential offender.

— Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
The repeat violent offender that attacked multiple women in Dilworth should have never been on the streets.

— Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of offender

Noun

The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals exploit citizenship and residency programs to conceal their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
The real risk is that a criminal could forge your signature on a deed or trick you into signing paperwork that transfers ownership, then file that document with the local office that maintains property records.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminal

Noun

Yet, punishing such authoritarian lawbreakers for their domestic and international crimes is essential, in my view.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
The lawbreakers were gathered this day on a cliff and a nearby arch, a crowd of around 50 young people — 14- to 20-year-olds, mostly males.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of lawbreaker

Browse Nearby Words

rechristens

recidivist

recidivists

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“Recidivist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recidivist. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of recidivist

noun

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