Recidivist

/rəˈsɪdɪvˌɪst/

IPA guide

Other forms: recidivists

Use the noun recidivist to describe someone who can't stop committing crimes — for example, a repeat shoplifter is a recidivist

If you've got serious backsliding tendencies, this could be your next step: recidivist is tech-talk for "repeat offender." A recidivist is basically someone who can't help lapsing into previous bad behavior patterns, usually of the criminal kind. An inmate who is released from prison and immediately steals a car can be described as a recidivist.

Definitions of recidivist

noun
someone who lapses into previous undesirable patterns of behavior

synonyms: backslider, reversionist

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type of:
offender, wrongdoer
a person who transgresses moral or civil law
noun
someone who is repeatedly arrested for criminal behavior (especially for the same criminal behavior)

synonyms: habitual criminal, repeater

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type of:
criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw
someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime

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