delinquently

de·lin·quent

 (dĭ-lĭng′kwənt, -lĭn′-)

adj.

1. Failing to do what law or duty requires.

2. Overdue in payment: a delinquent account.

n.

1. A juvenile delinquent.

2. A person who neglects or fails to do what law or duty requires.

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[Latin dēlinquēns, dēlinquent-, present participle of dēlinquere, to offend : dē-, de- + linquere, to leave, abandon; see leik^w- in Indo-European roots.]

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de·lin′quent·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.