dereliction

[ der-uh-lik-shuhn ]
See synonyms for dereliction on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. deliberate or conscious neglect; negligence; delinquency: dereliction of duty.

  2. the act of abandoning something.

  1. the state of being abandoned.

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

Origin of dereliction

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin dērelictiōn- (stem of dērelictiō ) “an abandoning,” equivalent to dērelict(us) (see derelict) + -iōn- -ion

synonym study For dereliction

1. See neglect.

Other words for dereliction

Words Nearby dereliction

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dereliction in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dereliction

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

  1. 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