ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Recidivism

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /rɪˈsɪdɪvɪzm̩/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Recidivism is a noun meaning Committing new offenses after a crime committed in the past.

Meaning

Committing new offenses after a crime committed in the past.

More Meanings

  1. (psychology, psychiatry) Chronic repetition of criminal or other antisocial behavior.
  2. (by extension) Returning to a negative behavior after having stopped it for a period of time.

Example Sentences

alcohol(ic) recidivism
The increase in criminal activity was attributed to recidivism.
Unintended mathwashing occurs when the algorithm is left unchecked, and, learning from historical data, amplifies social bias. The U.S. justice system uses an algorithm called COMPAS to determine a criminal's likelihood to re-offend. COMPAS has been proven by Pro Publica to predict that black defendants will have higher rates of recidivism than they actually do, while white defendants are predicted to have lower rates than they actually do.

Word Forms

Synonyms for recidivism

Depending on context, synonyms include lapse, reversion, relapse, reverting, backsliding, relapsing.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include relapse, relapsing, backsliding, reversion, lapse, lapsing.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.