Definition of delinquent
Adjective
delinquent (comparative more delinquent, superlative most delinquent)
- Late or failing to pay a debt or other financial obligation, like a mortgage or loan.
Fred is delinquent in making his car payment.
The company made a new effort to collect delinquent payments.
- Failing in or neglectful of a duty or obligation; guilty of a misdeed or offense
Derived terms
Noun
delinquent (plural delinquents)
- One who disobeys or breaks rules or laws.
- (obsolete) a term applied to royalists by their opponents in the English Civil War 1642 - 1645. Charles I was known as the chief delinquent.
Further reading
A delinquent is one who fails to do that which is required by law or by duty when such failure is minor in nature.
The term is often used to refer to a juvenile who commits a minor criminal act-juvenile delinquents.
In other cases, a delinquent is a person who fails to pay a debt or other financial obligation, like a mortgage. Failure to cure a delinquent payment can result in repossession or foreclosure. Accounts that are not current are also known as delinquent accounts.
References:
- Wiktionary. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
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