dereliction

American  

[der-uh-lik-shuhn] / ˌdɛr əˈlɪk ʃən /

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.

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dereliction British  

/ 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

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Related Words

See neglect.

Etymology

Origin of dereliction

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

Example Sentences

"For governments to allow private entities to essentially play Russian roulette with every human being on earth is, in my view, a total dereliction of duty," said Russell, a prominent voice on AI safety.

From Barron's

Welsh ministers hope that powers over the tax would help to encourage development and regeneration, and prevent dereliction.

From BBC

And in December, Starmer said that it would be a "dereliction of duty" not to engage with Beijing.

From Barron's

A president can only fire Fed board members "for cause," traditionally understood to mean malfeasance or dereliction of duty.

From Barron's

Its absence feels like a big miss or, less charitably, a dereliction of duty.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• evasion
• negligence