recidivism
reh-SID-ih-viz-um
/rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzəm/
The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend.
A technical term used by sociologists and penologists to measure the failure of a prison system to rehabilitate.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'recidivus', meaning 'falling back'. It was originally a medical term for a disease that returned after a period of health, before being adopted by criminologists in the 19th century.
Word relationships
- relapse: Relapse is usually used for medical or addiction contexts; recidivism is specifically for criminal behavior.
- desistance: Desistance is the process of stopping criminal behavior permanently.
Commonly confused with
- repetition: Repetition is doing anything again; recidivism is specifically doing a 'wrong' or 'crime' again.
Word family
- recidivist (noun): A person who repeatedly commits crimes.
Collocations
- recidivism rate
- reduce recidivism
- habitual recidivism
Example sentences
- "High rates of recidivism suggest that the current penal system is failing to rehabilitate inmates." Sociology
- "The program's primary goal was to reduce recidivism by providing job training to former prisoners." Public Policy
Memory hook
RECIDIVISM: The 'RE-CID' (re-sid) sounds like 'RE-SLIDE'. You are sliding back into crime. Sliding back into crime.
When not to use
Do not use for a child repeating a small mistake; it is strictly for criminal or pathological behavior.
Fun facts
- Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rates in the world (around 20%) due to its focus on 'human-centric' prison design.
Related words
Explore more words
rehabilitation, recurrent, incarceration, convict, parole, suspect
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.