delinquent
Americanadjective
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failing in or neglectful of a duty or obligation; guilty of a misdeed or offense.
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(of an account, tax, debt, etc.) past due; overdue.
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of or relating to delinquents or delinquency.
delinquent attitudes.
noun
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someone, esp a young person, guilty of delinquency See juvenile delinquent
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archaic a person who fails in an obligation or duty
adjective
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guilty of an offence or misdeed, esp one of a minor nature
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failing in or neglectful of duty or obligation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nondelinquentadjective
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predelinquentadjective
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undelinquentadjective
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delinquentlyadverb
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predelinquentlyadverb
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undelinquentlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of delinquent
1475–85; < Latin dēlinquent-; see delinquency
Explanation
The adjective delinquent describes something that is past due or people who are negligent in doing their duty. If you are delinquent in paying your delinquent library fines, you won't be able to check out any more books. You may have heard the term juvenile delinquent, which refers to a young (juvenile) person who gets in trouble, often with the law, but people of any age can be delinquent. A delinquent landlord is one who doesn't make repairs. A delinquent tenant is one who does not pay his rent.
Vocabulary lists containing delinquent
The Outsiders
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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Touching Spirit Bear
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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.
See Examples For:
State laws can make it difficult for communities to recover money from delinquent residents, said Glen Weinberg, founder of Fairview Commercial Lending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Disclosures are due within 30 days of becoming a candidate or by May 15, whichever is later, and must be done annually, making Haynes delinquent.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
Hochman said the comic paid his taxes before 2019 and that the California Franchise Tax Board sent more than 70 demand notices regarding his delinquent tax returns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Typically this means amended returns, catching up delinquent FBARs, and foreign-account reporting.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
“The police called me to come get my delinquent daughter.”
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
The RF also affords some measure of security against top-slashing thieves and delinquents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
Opened in 1873, the privately operated detention facility housed petty delinquents and orphans, said Marc Schindler, a professor at Georgetown who leads the project.
From Barron's ● Feb. 27, 2026
During Easter week, the pope chose to perform the traditional washing of others’ feet in a facility for juvenile delinquents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2025
The 300 biggest delinquents owed about $33 million per head, on average.
From Salon ● Jan. 5, 2023
“Some juvenile delinquents become our most successful citizens, while others crowd our prisons. What’s the difference?”
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
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.
