delinquency
noun /dɪˈlɪŋkwənsi/
/dɪˈlɪŋkwənsi/
[uncountable, countable] (plural delinquencies)
- bad or criminal behaviour, usually of young people
- an increase in juvenile delinquency
- The boys drift into minor delinquencies while hanging around the streets.
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from ecclesiastical Latin delinquentia, from Latin delinquent- ‘offending’, from the verb delinquere, from de- ‘away’ + linquere ‘to leave’.