delinquency
/dɪˈlɪŋkwənsi/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪˈlɪŋkwənsi/ (ame, ipa) · /di-ˈliŋ-kwən-sē -ˈlin-/ (ame, mw)
delinquency — 名詞
- delinquencysingular
- delinquenciesplural
1. a situation in which a person or organisation fails to pay money they owe by the
逾期還款
未在到期日前償還債務的情況
a situation in which a person or organisation fails to pay money they owe by the required date — for example, a credit-card payment that is past due, an overdue mortgage instalment, or unpaid taxes that have passed their deadline.
Lucia received a warning letter about delinquency on her student loan account.
Lucia 收到一封關於她的學生貸款帳戶逾期還款的警告信。
pattern: delinquency on + account
The bank charges a late fee if your credit card shows delinquency for over thirty days.
如果你的信用卡逾期超過三十天，銀行會收取滯納金。
Tax delinquency can lead to the government taking money directly from your wages.
稅款逾期未繳可能導致政府直接從你的薪資中扣款。
Diego's mortgage delinquency lasted two months before he found a new job.
Diego 的房貸逾期了兩個月，之後他才找到新工作。
Rising loan delinquency is often one of the first signs of a struggling economy.
貸款逾期率上升通常是經濟陷入困境的最初跡象之一。
- default
stronger; implies complete failure to repay rather than just lateness
- non-payment
factual; does not specify whether the payment is overdue or never made
- overdue status
more descriptive; common in customer-service contexts
- punctual payment
payment made on or before the due date
文法句型
delinquency on + financial product
in delinquency
delinquency + noun (as modifier)
用法筆記
Uncountable. Predominantly used in American English for financial contexts; the British equivalent is often arrears. Common modifier in banking: delinquency rate, delinquency notice, delinquency status.
常見錯誤
2. behaviour by a child or teenager that breaks the law or seriously goes against w
青少年犯罪
未成年人的違法或反社會行為
behaviour by a child or teenager that breaks the law or seriously goes against what society accepts as proper — for example, stealing, fighting, vandalising property, or skipping school repeatedly.
The Kingston Youth Support after-school programme cut teenage truancy and shoplifting in the area by nearly sixty percent over two years.
Kingston Youth Support 課後輔導計劃在兩年內將該地區青少年逃學和入店行竊的比例減少了近六成。
pattern: delinquency prevention + specific outcomes
Hikaru's mother enrolled him in a sports club to keep him away from delinquency.
Hikaru 的母親幫他報名了體育社團，希望他不要走上歧途。
A 2023 Leeds University study linked rising delinquency rates among Manchester teenagers to the closure of six youth centres.
一份 2023 年 Leeds 大學的研究將 Manchester 青少年犯罪率的上升與六間青少年活動中心的關閉聯繫起來。
Zola's older brother spent a year at a special school for young people with delinquency problems.
Zola 的哥哥曾在一所專門收容行為偏差青少年的學校待了一年。
A 2022 Oregon state law requires public schools to report repeated truancy and vandalism to the juvenile court within five days.
奧勒岡州 2022 年的一項州法規定公立學校必須在五天內將學生屢次逃學和破壞行為通報少年法庭。
- misconduct
broader term that includes adults; less likely to imply criminality
- offending
more formal; used in criminology and legal contexts
- lawbreaking
more direct and informal; focuses on the illegality
- good behaviour
informal; opposite in social/moral terms
- lawfulness
formal; opposite in legal terms
文法句型
delinquency + noun (as modifier)
delinquency among + group
用法筆記
Uncountable — refers to the general phenomenon or pattern of youth misbehaviour, not a single act. Frequently appears in the fixed phrase juvenile delinquency in legal, academic, and policy writing.
常見錯誤
3. a specific act that violates the law or accepted moral standards — for example,
違規行為
違反法律或道德標準的具體行為
a specific act that violates the law or accepted moral standards — for example, a minor crime by an adult, a breach of professional ethics, or a violation of organisational rules.
The committee found evidence of financial delinquency by two senior managers.
委員會發現了兩名高階主管涉及財務違規行為的證據。
collocation: financial delinquency
Kwame was suspended from school for a minor delinquency that he regretted immediately.
Kwame 因一項輕微違規行為被學校停學，他對此立刻感到後悔。
The journalist's delinquency was publishing confidential information without proper authorisation.
那位記者的違規行為是在未經授權的情況下發布機密資訊。
Nina was convicted of a delinquency for illegally downloading software worth over two thousand dollars.
Nina 因非法下載價值超過兩千美元的軟體而被判犯有違規行為。
The juvenile court treated sixteen-year-old Tomas's shoplifting of a video game as a minor delinquency rather than a serious crime.
少年法庭將十六歲 Tomas 偷竊電玩遊戲的行為視為輕微違規，而非嚴重犯罪。
- violation
more specific to rule-breaking; common in legal language
- misdemeanour
specifically a minor crime; used in US law
- offence
the standard formal term for an illegal act
- virtue
positive moral quality; opposite in ethical terms
文法句型
a + delinquency
delinquency + of + noun
用法筆記
Countable — refers to one specific wrongful act, unlike sense 2 (general uncountable behaviour). Often used in formal or legal writing about institutional or professional misconduct.