dereliction

[ der-uh-lik-shuhn ]

noun

1. deliberate or conscious neglect; negligence; delinquency:

   dereliction of duty.

2. the act of abandoning something.

   Synonyms: desertion

3. the state of being abandoned.
4. Law. a leaving dry of land by recession of the water line.

dereliction

/ ˌdɛrɪˈlɪkʃən /

noun

1. deliberate, conscious, or wilful neglect (esp in the phrase dereliction of duty )
2. the act of abandoning or deserting or the state of being abandoned or deserted
3. law
   1. accretion of dry land gained by the gradual receding of the sea or by a river changing its course
   2. the land thus left

Word History and Origins

Origin of dereliction¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin dērelictiōn- (stem of dērelictiō ) “an abandoning,” equivalent to dērelict(us) ( derelict ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonym Study

See neglect.

Example Sentences

Collectively, their national commitments constitute a dereliction of duty on a global scale, and a damning failure of leadership and diplomacy.

From Time

People in Texas died at disproportionate rates because of a dereliction on behalf of the governor.

From Time

Documents released on Friday suggest some could face criminal charges of dereliction of duty or negligence, but no charges have been announced.

From Washington Post

This is a dereliction of duty, pure and simple—a firing offense.

From The Daily Beast

Christie still has time to learn from this dereliction of duty.

From The Daily Beast

Seaman's mind-boggling dereliction of responsibility harms the state whose interests he was, and is, tasked with protecting.

From The Daily Beast

By rejecting this last attempt to suborn a dereliction of duty, Henry saved my reputation, my honor, my life, really.

From The Daily Beast

It had suffered a sizeable brain drain, since over a third of its workforce was fired by Chavez for dereliction of duty.

From The Daily Beast

Nor are you deviating from Christian charity in not overlooking a dereliction of so material a sort.

From Project Gutenberg

To abandon any part of the inheritance of primitive times would be gross heresy, a fatal dereliction of Christian duty.

From Project Gutenberg

By that time Jack had recovered his usual good nature, and was as ready to jest as his companion over his dereliction of duty.

From Project Gutenberg

The duties of both rank and file were strictly laid down by Washington, and any dereliction was punished with military strictness.

From Project Gutenberg

I never heard of any of them being removed for incompetency, dereliction of duty or malfeasance.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• evasion
• negligence