dereliction

der·e·lic·tion
D2E1R1E1L1I1C3T1I1O1N1
US, UK/dɛɹ.ɪˈlɪk.ʃən/

noun

Willful neglect of one's duty.

“What he did was a terrible dereliction of duty.”

Similar
delinquencywillful neglect
UncommonScrabble 14

Meanings

noundereliction (countable and uncountable, plural derelictions)

plural derelictions

  1. countableuncountableWillful neglect of one's duty.

    What he did was a terrible dereliction of duty.

    3 more examples

    The new soldier did not clean his cabin and was scolded for dereliction and disobedience.

    […] there on the table were the uncleared remains of Thursday's lunch, plain evidence of someone's dereliction.

    1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London

    And his final act—leaving the Watch to accompany Tormund and the Wildlings back into the woods North of the wall—no longer seems like a dereliction of duty. It’s the recovery of duty, found by a man who feels he betrayed his queen, who thinks there’s no longer a place for him in these lands.

    2019 May 19, Alex McLevy, “The final Game Of Thrones brings a pensive but simple meditation about stories (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 22 May 2019
  2. countableuncountableThe act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned.

    To this we must contend with prayer , with actual dereliction and seposition of all our other affairs

    1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC
    2 more examples

    There is much sad evidence, too, of the spoliation and dereliction of vanished industry: tips, slag-heaps and derelict colliery-screens among which the ubiquitous, nomad mountain sheep graze unconcernedly.

    1955 July, D. S. Barrie, “Railways of the Bridgend District”, in Railway Magazine, page 449

    After years of unsympathetic commercial use and dereliction, nothing of note remained inside, which accordingly has been reconfigured with modern amenities such as underfloor heating.

    2021 December 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: The Network Rail Community Award: Saltash and Stow”, in RAIL, number 946, page 58
  3. countableuncountableLand gained from the water by a change of water-line.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna tendency to be negligent and uncaring

Similar
delinquencywillful neglect

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latindērelictiō“neglect, abandonment”
  2. Englishdereliction

From Latin dērelictiō (“neglect, abandonment”), from dērelinquō (“to neglect, abandon”), from dē- + re- + linquō (“to leave”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish laiminlyönti, hylkääminen
  • laiminlyöntiwillful neglect of one's duty
  • hylkääminenthe act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned
  • hylkiöthe act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned
  • hylkythe act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned
French prévarication, déréliction
  • prévaricationwillful neglect of one's duty
  • dérélictionthe act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned
German Pflichtversäumnis, Dienstpflichtverletzung
  • Pflichtversäumniswillful neglect of one's duty
  • Dienstpflichtverletzungwillful neglect of one's duty
  • Dereliktionthe act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned
Hebrew עזובה
  • עזובה (azuvá)willful neglect of one's duty
Russian сабота́ж, наруше́ние до́лга
  • сабота́ж (sabotáž)willful neglect of one's duty
  • наруше́ние до́лга (narušénije dólga)willful neglect of one's duty
  • оставле́ние (ostavlénije)the act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned
  • забро́шенность (zabróšennostʹ)the act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned
Spanish derelicción, derelección
  • derelicciónwillful neglect of one's duty
  • derelecciónthe act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with dereliction

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

dereliction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dereliction

MLA

“dereliction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dereliction. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dereliction,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dereliction.

Source: dereliction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.