-_və̇st noun
( -s )
Etymology: French récidiviste, from récidiver to recidivate (from Medieval Latin recidivare ) + -iste -ist
: one who relapses or has suffered a relapse
some of the patients admitted are new cases, others are recidivists
specifically : one who persists in crime : an habitual criminal : repeater
the casual offender expiates his offense in the company of defectives and recidivists — B.N.Cardozo