DELINQUENCY

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does delinquency mean? 

• DELINQUENCY (noun)
  The noun DELINQUENCY has 3 senses:

1. nonpayment of a debt when due

2. a tendency to be negligent and uncaring

3. an antisocial misdeed in violation of the law by a minor

  Familiarity information: DELINQUENCY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DELINQUENCY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Nonpayment of a debt when due

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("delinquency" is a kind of...):

default; nonpayment; nonremittal (loss resulting from failure of a debt to be paid)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A tendency to be negligent and uncaring

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

delinquency; dereliction; willful neglect

Context example:

his adolescent protest consisted of willful neglect of all his responsibilities

Hypernyms ("delinquency" is a kind of...):

neglect; neglectfulness; negligence (the trait of neglecting responsibilities and lacking concern)

Derivation:

delinquent (guilty of a misdeed)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An antisocial misdeed in violation of the law by a minor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

delinquency; juvenile delinquency

Hypernyms ("delinquency" is a kind of...):

misbehavior; misbehaviour; misdeed (improper or wicked or immoral behavior)

Domain category:

jurisprudence; law (the collection of rules imposed by authority)

 Context examples 

Meg returned to her place, and supper was progressing pleasantly, when the little ghost walked again, and exposed the maternal delinquencies by boldly demanding, "More sudar, Marmar."

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

She told us many details about her brother-in-law the steward, and then wandering off on the subject of her former lodgers, the medical students, she gave us a long account of their delinquencies, with their names and those of their hospitals.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)