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

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.

From BBC

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.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From BBC

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".

From BBC

Related Words

• evasion
• negligence