delinquency
Americannoun
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failure in or neglect of duty or obligation; dereliction; default.
delinquency in payment of dues.
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wrongful, illegal, or antisocial behavior.
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any misdeed, offense, or misdemeanor.
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something, as a debt, that is past due or otherwise delinquent.
noun
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an offence or misdeed, usually of a minor nature, esp one committed by a young person See juvenile delinquency
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failure or negligence in duty or obligation; dereliction
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a delinquent nature or delinquent behaviour
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of delinquency
1630–40; < Late Latin dēlinquentia fault, crime, equivalent to Latin dēlinquent- (stem of dēlinquēns, present participle of dēlinquere to do wrong, equivalent to dē- de- + linquere to leave) + -ia noun suffix; see -ency
Explanation
Delinquency is a minor crime, especially one committed by a youth. Cutting class all week to drive around town without your license is a sure sign of delinquency. Delinquency can mean a particular violation, like stealing a car, but it may also refer to a more general trend of acting out and violating the law, like stealing cars daily and crashing them many times over. In this sense it’s often called juvenile delinquency. Another sense of delinquency is general neglect, particularly by someone who holds a formal position. The word can also refer to an unpaid debt. You’re thinking about those unpaid library fines now, right?
Vocabulary lists containing delinquency
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"Declaration of Sentiments," Vocabulary from the public document
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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.
Advocates have expressed concern that those parents will soon begin to struggle, driving up already high delinquency and default rates.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 1, 2026
Bernal added that delinquency rates for credit cards and car loans have jumped by 25% to 27% for borrowers under age 40 in states that legalize internet sports betting.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
Liddle says while delinquency happens, and is not okay, it means funding is not always targeted in the best way.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
“Student loan delinquency is increasingly intertwined with distress across other credit markets,” the report says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
It would help the children to cultivate the imagination denied them by television and would appreciably cut down on the incidence of juvenile delinquency.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
