I. de ‧ lin ‧ quent 1 /dɪˈlɪŋkwənt/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: delinquere 'to fail, offend' , from linquere 'to leave' ]
1 . behaving in a way that is illegal or that society does not approve of ⇨ criminal
delinquent girls/boys/children/teenagers
2 . technical a delinquent debt, account etc has not been paid on time:
the recovery of delinquent loans
II. delinquent 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
someone, especially a young person, who breaks the law or behaves in ways their society does not approve of:
Deanes writes and lectures about teenage delinquents.
⇨ ↑ juvenile delinquent
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THESAURUS
▪ criminal someone who is involved in illegal activities or has been proved guilty of a crime. Criminal is used especially about someone who often does things that are illegal:
Criminals are stealing people's credit card details off the Internet.
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He is one of the most wanted criminals in the United States.
▪ offender someone who breaks the law:
The courts should impose tougher punishments on offenders.
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a special prison for young offenders
▪ crook informal a dishonest person, especially one who steals money and who you cannot trust:
Some politicians are crooks, but not all of them.
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They're just a bunch of crooks.
▪ felon law especially American English someone who has committed a serious crime:
Convicted felons should not be allowed to profit from their crimes.
▪ the culprit the person who has done something wrong or illegal:
The culprits were never found.
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If I ever catch the culprit, he or she is in big trouble.
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The culprits were just six years old.
▪ delinquent a young person who behaves badly and is likely to commit crimes - used especially in the phrase juvenile delinquent :
He later worked with juvenile delinquents in a Florida youth services program.
▪ accomplice someone who helps a criminal to do something illegal:
Police believe the murderer must have had an accomplice.