delinquent

noun
de·​lin·​quent | \ di-ˈliŋ-kwənt How to pronounce delinquent (audio) , -ˈlin-\

Definition of delinquent

 (Entry 1 of 2)

: a usually young person who regularly performs illegal or immoral acts

delinquent

adjective

Definition of delinquent (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : offending by neglect or violation of duty or of law … were clearly delinquent in not immediately alerting Western Europe to the accident …— Richard Wilson
2 : being overdue in payment a delinquent charge account … efforts to crack down on parents delinquent in child-support payments …— Todd S. Purdum
3 : of, relating to, or characteristic of people who regularly perform illegal or immoral acts : marked by delinquency (see delinquency sense 1b) delinquent behavior

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Other Words from delinquent

Adjective

delinquently adverb

Synonyms & Antonyms for delinquent

Synonyms: Adjective

behind, behindhand, belated, late, latish, overdue, tardy

Antonyms: Adjective

early, inopportune, precocious, premature, unseasonable, untimely

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Examples of delinquent in a Sentence

Noun

a group of violent delinquents

Adjective

a school for delinquent children His delinquent behavior could lead to more serious problems. The town is trying to collect delinquent taxes.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The 12-year-old was charged with criminal mischief as a juvenile delinquent. Fox News, "New York girl, 12, charged after swastikas, 'white power' found spray-painted on church, buildings," 29 July 2019 There are two payments due each fiscal year, with the last one considered delinquent after April 10. San Diego Union-Tribune, "Property taxes due in 10 days or risk default," 20 June 2019 Or what the Fourth of July used to be like with the young delinquent down the street. Chris Erskine, San Diego Union-Tribune, "A speedway, a spectacle, a sensational Saturday night," 20 June 2019 The statement also said that through the weeks of protests delinquents and others have been arrested among demonstrators with some trying to steal, harass or be aggressive, the official APS news agency reported. Nadine Achoui-lesage, The Seattle Times, "Clashes mar peaceful protests as Algerians march anew," 12 Apr. 2019 In contrast to 2015, there were no new steel company bond defaults in 2018 excluding previous delinquents, according to data from Wind. Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, "Chinese Overcapacity Returns to Haunt Global Industry," 10 Jan. 2019 Keven Paul Mejia, a 27-year-old former security guard from the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, said there were some delinquents traveling with the group of several thousand who smoke marijuana and get drunk. Julie Watson, The Seattle Times, "Caravan migrants weigh options after court blocks Trump ban," 20 Nov. 2018 For one thing, Richard Beymer as Tony is perhaps the most ineffectual leading man in any major Hollywood musical, and for another, those ballet dancers pretending to be juvenile delinquents never seemed the least bit threatening. Will Friedwald, WSJ, "‘West Side Story Reimagined’ Review: A Kaleidoscope of Latin Jazz," 16 July 2018 Five firefighters finally had to tranquilize the furry delinquent. Dasl Yoon, WSJ, "That Raccoon Rooting Through Your Trash Could Be a Big Star in Seoul," 7 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

CoreLogic said that only 1% of Dallas-area home mortgages were seriously delinquent — late by 90 days or more. Steve Brown, Dallas News, "Fewer Dallas-area homeowners are late on their mortgages," 13 Aug. 2019 The tax board is required by law to post information about top delinquent taxpayers annually, according to its website. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, "Can Tori Spelling really pay her bills? There’s still that unpaid $220,000 judgment and other reported debts," 7 Aug. 2019 The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office serves delinquent taxpayers with auction notices and conducts the sales. Rebekah L. Sanders, azcentral, "Disabled military veteran could lose his home over $236 in back taxes," 12 July 2019 But the Sheriff's Office, which is charged with seizing and selling property to cure delinquent taxes, said officials weren't aware of the payment until after the home was sold to a buyer June 20. Robert Anglen, azcentral, "Disabled Arizona veteran whose mobile home was auctioned off will get to stay," 19 July 2019 One of his companies also had $700 in delinquent taxes and penalties on its 2019 property tax bill for an Indianapolis duplex, state tax records show. Tim Evans, Indianapolis Star, "The 'Flipping Exes' baggage Bravo's not talking about: Bankruptcy, lawsuits, late taxes," 8 July 2019 On Wednesday, Barnes walked out of an interview with a reporter for WITI-TV (Channel 6) when asked about his delinquent property taxes on his Milwaukee condo. Daniel Bice, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Bice: Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes walks out of TV interview when asked about delinquent taxes," 20 June 2019 Sales taxes and hotel/motel taxes Business owners can settle delinquent tax accounts by only paying the tax due and 50% of the interest due. Kevin Litten, nola.com, "New Orleans starts 3-month amnesty period for late tickets, taxes," 3 June 2019 Investors fly into the county each October to bid on tax-delinquent properties in a local gymnasium. Lizzie Presser, ProPublica, "The Reels Brothers Spent Eight Years in Jail for Refusing to Leave It.," 15 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'delinquent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of delinquent

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for delinquent

Noun

earlier, "person failing in a duty, offender," borrowed from Middle French delinquant, noun derivative from present participle of delinquer "to commit an offense," borrowed from Latin dēlinquere "to be lacking, fall short of an approved standard, misbehave, commit (an offense)" — more at delinquent entry 2

Adjective

borrowed from Latin dēlinquent-, dēlinquens, present participle of dēlinquere "to be lacking, fall short of an approved standard, misbehave, commit (an offense)," from dē- de- + linquō, linquere (perfect līquī) "to go away from, leave, leave behind, abandon, desist from," going back to Indo-European *li-n-kw-/*li-né-kw- "leaves behind" (whence also Sanskrit riṇákti "[s/he] leaves behind," Avestan irinaxti, Old Irish léicid "[s/he] lets go, leaves behind"), ar-léici "[s/he] lets go, releases, lends," present tense derivative from the base *lei̯kw- "leave behind, distance oneself from," whence also, with varying ablaut, Greek leípō, leípein (aorist élipon) "to leave, quit, be missing," Armenian likʼ "(s/he) left, let go," Old Prussian polāikt "to remain," Lithuanian liekù, lìkti, Germanic *līhwan- "to grant, lend" (whence Old English lēon "to lend, grant," Old Saxon farlīhan, Old High German līhan, Old Norse ljá, Gothic leihwan "to lend")

Note: The specialization of sense in Germanic (from "leave behind" to "lend") is distinctive and has been variously explained. Attention has been drawn to the derivative *laihna- "something lent," perhaps from "something left as a legacy," with apparent counterparts in Indo-Iranian (see loan entry 1), and it has been argued that the noun's influence has restricted the meaning of the verb (see Antoine Meillet, "Sur le suffixe indo-européen *-nes-," Mémoires de la Société Linguistique de Paris, tome 15 [1908-09], pp. 254-56).

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More Definitions for delinquent

delinquent

noun

English Language Learners Definition of delinquent

 (Entry 1 of 2)

: a young person who regularly does illegal or immoral things

delinquent

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of delinquent (Entry 2 of 2)

: doing things that are illegal or immoral
: not paid at the required or expected time
: failing to pay an amount of money that is owed