juvenile delinquent
Americannoun
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a minor who cannot be controlled by parental authority and commits antisocial or criminal acts, as vandalism or violence.
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a child or youth characterized by juvenile delinquency.
noun
Etymology
Origin of juvenile delinquent
First recorded in 1810–20
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was headed for jail as a juvenile delinquent when a sympathetic judge offered him an alternative: Join the military.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 23, 2022
He also began getting into mischief, and his parents, worried that he was becoming a juvenile delinquent, sent him to Miami when he was 14 to live with a married brother, Cyril.
From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2022
Speaking to a crowd of relatives and activists in Montgomery, she said: "I guess you can say that now I am no longer a juvenile delinquent."
From BBC • Oct. 27, 2021
A brainy classmate helps a cocky juvenile delinquent find the right path in life.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2020
“Daddy left his computer laying around. Seems like he wanted to know all about his future juvenile delinquent superstar.”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
