recidivist - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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From French récidiviste, from Latin recidīvus (“returning, recurring”). Compare recidivous, -ist.
- (weak vowel distinction) IPA(key): /ɹɪˈsɪdɪvɪst/
- (weak vowel merger) IPA(key): /ɹɪˈsɪdəvɪst/
recidivist (plural recidivists)
- One who falls back into prior habits, especially criminal habits.
- Synonym: repeat offender
1914, R. Austin Freeman, chapter 2, in The Uttermost Farthing:
This specimen was of English parentage, was a professional burglar, a confirmed recidivist, and—since he habitually carried firearms—a potential homicide.
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Quarians: Law and Defense Codex entry:
Persistent recidivists are "accidentally" left on the next habitable world. This practice of abandoning criminals on other people's planets is a point of friction between the quarians and the systems they pass through. Captains rarely have another choice; with space and resources at a premium, supporting a non-productive prison population is not an option.
Borrowed from French récidiviste.
recidivist m (plural recidiviști)