delinquent

«delinquent» in Mova's school dictionary: a young person who keeps breaking the law or behaving badly — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a delinquent, delinquents); adjective (delinquent)

meaning for a pupil

1) A delinquent, or juvenile delinquent, is a young person who keeps breaking the law or behaving badly. tree →

2) (adjective) Delinquent behaviour is behaviour that breaks laws or rules. tree →

3) (formal, mainly US) A delinquent bill or account is one that has not been paid on time. tree →

sense in the lessons

Used in news, reports and stories about young people in trouble with the law; it is a serious, judging word. In formal and business English, a delinquent payment is a late one. Phrases: juvenile delinquent, delinquent behaviour, delinquent account.

examples

• The police caught the young delinquents spraying paint on the wall. tree →
• The story is about a delinquent who turns his life around. tree →
• Stealing cars is delinquent behaviour. tree →
• The bank sent a letter about the delinquent account. tree →
• He was called a juvenile delinquent, but he just needed help. tree →
• The delinquents were made to clean up the park. tree →
• Her tax payment was delinquent by three months. tree →

note

Countable noun: a delinquent, delinquents. Noun for the behaviour: delinquency (uncountable). It is a harsh label; calling a classmate a delinquent is insulting.

In the corpora

• "Delinquent account" (US jargon) means a debt that has not been paid on time.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «delinquent» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.