RECIDIVISTS Synonyms: 52 Similar and Opposite Words

recidivists

noun

plural of recidivist

as in offenders

formal a person who continues to commit crimes even after being caught and punished

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of recidivists The plan also calls for going a step further — pushing for legislation at the state level to enable license suspension for serial recidivists. — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 19 Sep. 2026 Within the Moreton Bay area, a penal settlement for colonial recidivists was founded at Brisbane, followed by other penal establishments at Ipswich and on Stradbroke Island. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026 Gerald Ford, who was President during the peak of the arson wave, publicly mentioned the Bronx just once, to go by the American Presidency Project, and that was to commend Merola’s office for locking up recidivists. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for recidivists

Noun

His lacerating wit spares no member of his staff—a mix of true incompetents, off-putting savants, ticking time bombs, and onetime offenders prematurely consigned to professional purgatory.

— Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
Penalties increase if offenders cover their faces or someone is injured.

— ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of offenders

Noun

Also protect the email account associated with your Social Security profile because criminals may target it to reset other passwords.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
Ford placed the inmate’s bid for clemency on the agenda of the state pardons board — an example, Lombardo claims, of the way Ford treats criminals.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026

Definition of criminals

Noun

Yet, punishing such authoritarian lawbreakers for their domestic and international crimes is essential, in my view.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
The lawbreakers were gathered this day on a cliff and a nearby arch, a crowd of around 50 young people — 14- to 20-year-olds, mostly males.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of lawbreakers

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“Recidivists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recidivists. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of recidivists

noun

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