Link Centre Dictionary

delinquency

de·lin·quency

UK/dɪˈlɪŋkwənsi/ US/dɪˈlɪŋkwʌnsi/ rare

noun

1.

nonpayment of a debt when due

2.

a tendency to be negligent and uncaring

  • “he inherited his delinquency from his father”
  • “his derelictions were not really intended as crimes”
  • “his adolescent protest consisted of willful neglect of all his responsibilities”
Synonyms
3.

Origin

Borrowed from Late Latin dēlinquentia, derived from Latin dēlinquēns, present participle of dēlinquō (“to transgress, err”). By surface analysis, delinquent + -cy

Phrases

  • juvenile delinquency

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.