recidivist

/rəˈsɪdɪˌvɪst/

Other forms: recidivists

Use the noun recidivist to describe someone who can't stop committing crimes — for example, a repeat shoplifter is a recidivist

If you've got serious backsliding tendencies, this could be your next step: recidivist is tech-talk for "repeat offender." A recidivist is basically someone who can't help lapsing into previous bad behavior patterns, usually of the criminal kind. An inmate who is released from prison and immediately steals a car can be described as a recidivist.

Definitions of recidivist

1. noun

   someone who lapses into previous undesirable patterns of behavior
   synonyms: backslider, reversionist

   type of:

   offender, wrongdoer

   a person who transgresses moral or civil law
2. noun

   someone who is repeatedly arrested for criminal behavior (especially for the same criminal behavior)
   synonyms: habitual criminal, repeater

   type of:

   criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw

   someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime