Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Recidivist \Re*cid"i*vist\, n.
   One who is recidivous or is characterized by recidivism; an
   incorrigible criminal. -- {Re*cid`i*vis"tic}, a.

         The criminal by passion never becomes a recidivist, it
         is the social, not the antisocial, instincts that are
         strong within him, his crime is a solitary event in his
         life.                                    --Havelock
                                                  Ellis.

Source : WordNet®

recidivist
     n 1: someone who is repeatedly arrested for criminal behavior
          (especially for the same criminal behavior) [syn: {repeater},
           {habitual criminal}]
     2: someone who lapses into previous undesirable patterns of
        behavior [syn: {backslider}, {reversionist}]