dereliction

[ der-uh-lik-shuh n ]

/ ˌdɛr əˈlɪk ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dereliction ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

deliberate or conscious neglect; negligence; delinquency: dereliction of duty.

the act of abandoning something.

the state of being abandoned.

Law. a leaving dry of land by recession of the water line.

Nearby words

deregister, deregulate, dereism, derek, derelict, dereliction, derencephaly, derepress, derepression, derequisition, derestrict

Origin of dereliction

1590–1600; < Latin dērelictiōn- (stem of dērelictiō) an abandoning, equivalent to dērelict(us) (see derelict) + -iōn- -ion

SYNONYMS FOR dereliction

1 See neglect.

2 desertion.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dereliction ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dereliction

This is a dereliction of duty, pure and simple—a firing offense.
Border Kids Crisis—Impotent Congress|John Avlon|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Christie still has time to learn from this dereliction of duty.
Why 'Bridgegate' Will Make or Break Chris Christie|John Avlon|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By rejecting this last attempt to suborn a dereliction of duty, Henry saved my reputation, my honor, my life, really.
John McCain’s Surprising Toast at Kissinger’s 90th Birthday Party|The Daily Beast|June 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It had suffered a sizeable brain drain, since over a third of its workforce was fired by Chavez for dereliction of duty.
Why Hugo Chavez Was Bad for Venezuela|Megan McArdle|March 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Around this time, he was reprimanded, unfairly, on two counts of dereliction of duty.
Second ‘Underwear Bomber,’ Kim Philby, and Other Notorious Double Agents|The Daily Beast|May 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST
His dereliction, if any, might consist in sly tapping of the wine-cellar.
Whispering Wires|Henry Leverage
If, at the age of eighteen, he does not exhibit some ability in this respect, the school may justly be charged with dereliction.
The Reconstructed School|Francis B. Pearson
If the vanquished party have exceeded in these, it has been amply counterbalanced by dereliction of principle in the victors.
The Life of Albert Gallatin|Henry Adams
(p. 063)The commanding officer of "all that is left of them" was severely censured, the other day, for dereliction of duty.
Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive|Alf Burnett
This was not because of a sense of a dereliction in duty, but because he feared the strong man's contempt for inefficiency.
The Blazed Trail|Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for dereliction

dereliction

/ (ˌdɛrɪˈlɪkʃən) /

noun

deliberate, conscious, or wilful neglect (esp in the phrase dereliction of duty)

the act of abandoning or deserting or the state of being abandoned or deserted

law

accretion of dry land gained by the gradual receding of the sea or by a river changing its course
the land thus left

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012