Word of the Day

: June 15, 2019

recidivism

noun rih-SID-uh-viz-um

What It Means

: a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior; especially : relapse into criminal behavior

recidivism in Context

The judge took the guilty felon's rate of recidivism into account when she deliberated her sentence.

"She said her main purpose is to support seniors' efforts to 'age in place' with dignity, rather than face premature institutionalization. Her outreach has reduced recidivism into hospitals for many seniors." — Mort Mazor, The Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), 8 May 2019

Did You Know?

Recidivism means literally "a falling back" and usually implies "into bad habits." It comes from the Latin word recidivus, which means "recurring." Recidivus itself comes from the Latin verb recidere, which is a composite of the prefix re- and the verb cadere (meaning "to fall") and means "to fall back." Recidivists tend to relapse, or "fall back," into old habits and particularly crime. Deciduous and incident are two other English words that have roots in cadere. Deciduous comes from the verb decidere (de- plus cadere), which means "to fall off." And incident comes from incidere (in- plus cadere), which means "to fall into."