recidivist
recidivist — noun
- recidivistsingular
- recidivistsplural
1. someone who commits new crimes after being punished for earlier offences, often
someone who commits new crimes after being punished for earlier offences, often as a repeated pattern that the justice system struggles to break.
The court sentenced the recidivist to twelve years, citing five previous convictions for theft.
collocation: previous convictions
Omar was classified as a recidivist when arrested three weeks after his parole ended.
passive: classified as a recidivist
Job-training programmes in prison reduce the number of recidivists who reoffend after release.
Judges now use a risk-assessment tool to identify offenders likely to become recidivists.
- repeat offender
less formal, used in everyday court reporting
- habitual criminal
stronger emphasis on long-term pattern, often carries moral judgment
- career criminal
implies crime as a livelihood, not necessarily someone who was caught and punished before
- first-time offender
someone facing charges for the first time
用法筆記
Frequently used in legal and criminological contexts. The noun is countable; a person is called a recidivist, and the behaviour is called recidivism.
常見錯誤
2. a person who returns to a former undesirable habit, addiction, or negative condi
a person who returns to a former undesirable habit, addiction, or negative condition after a period of improvement or abstinence.
Selim became a recidivist when he started smoking again after quitting for eight months.
pattern: became a recidivist when [clause]
The clinic runs a support group for recidivists who have fallen back into self-harming behaviours.
collocation: support group for recidivists
Weight-loss programmes track recidivists who regain the weight after reaching their target.
Tanvi's counsellor warned her that stress often turns recovering addicts into recidivists.
- backslider
more common in religious or moral contexts
- relapser
used in clinical psychology and addiction medicine
- reformed person
someone who has permanently changed their behaviour
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 applies strictly to criminal behaviour; sense 2 applies to any undesirable behaviour (addiction, unhealthy habits). The term carries a medical or therapeutic tone in sense 2.