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

Wuterich maintained he could not remember what had happened in Safa's house, and agreed to plead guilty to one count of negligent dereliction of duty - a charge unrelated to any direct involvement in the killings.

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This is a warm and pleasing understanding of the law, but for counsel to represent “the situation” rather than his client is actually a dereliction of his sworn duty.

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Its dereliction in a nutshell: only investigating whether the sentiment was right, not whether the policy—at the cost of trillions—did what it said it did.

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It's been called "an extraordinary dereliction of duty".

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On Tuesday, Williamson rejected Sir Jon's accusation that the lack of planning represented a "dereliction of duty", but conceded that "the depth of the challenge we were facing hadn't been properly grasped".

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Related Words

• evasion 
• negligence