delinquere

to commit a crime

verb deh-leen-KWEH-reh Rare

Origin: From Latin delinquere, 'to fail, offend'.

Usage Note

Delinquere is a legal and formal verb meaning 'to commit a criminal act'. It is rarely used in everyday speech; instead Italians say commettere un reato or fare qualcosa di illegale. Notably, delinquere is a defective verb — it has no past participle and no compound tenses in standard Italian, which limits its use heavily to present and imperfect forms.

Examples

"Chi delinque deve rispondere delle proprie azioni."

Natural Translation

Those who commit crimes must answer for their actions.

Literal Translation

Who commits-crimes must respond of-the own actions.

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