dereliction
noun
der·e·lic·tion ˌder-ə-ˈlik-shən 
ˌde-rə-
1
a
: an intentional abandonment
b
: the state of being abandoned
2
: a recession of water leaving permanently dry land
3
a
: intentional or conscious neglect : delinquency
dereliction of duty
b
: fault, shortcoming
Synonyms
- abandonment
- desertion
- forsaking
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the dereliction of a cause by its leaders The officer was formally charged with dereliction of duty. a serious dereliction of duty
Recent Examples on the Web Two other officers, Tyler Mundson and Brian Stoll, were charged last week with felony theft in office and misdemeanor counts of dereliction of duty and interfering with civil rights in connection with a March 31 incident. 
Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 9 Sep. 2022 Senate Democrats are keen to avoid that scrutiny for this bill, and American companies will pay for this dereliction if the bill passes. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 2 Aug. 2022 Committee members have argued that Trump's lack of response was dereliction of duty under the constitution to protect Congress. Pj Elliott, USA TODAY, 22 July 2022 In the final public hearing of the summer, the panel accused the former president of dereliction of duty for failing to act to stop the Capitol assault. New York Times, 3 Aug. 2022 Luria, a Navy veteran, said Trump was guilty of dereliction of duty and betrayed his oath of office. Amy Nakamura, USA TODAY, 22 July 2022 Some had predicted this hearing would prove Trump was guilty of dereliction of duty. Frida Ghitis, CNN, 22 July 2022 Violators could be found guilty of dereliction of duty, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine. Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, 26 May 2022 Dan Tierney, a spokesman for DeWine, denied that the governor or any other redistricting commission Republican is guilty of dereliction of duty, saying that the GOP map has more competitive districts and splits communities fewer times. Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, 26 May 2022 See More
Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 9 Sep. 2022 Senate Democrats are keen to avoid that scrutiny for this bill, and American companies will pay for this dereliction if the bill passes. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 2 Aug. 2022 Committee members have argued that Trump's lack of response was dereliction of duty under the constitution to protect Congress. Pj Elliott, USA TODAY, 22 July 2022 In the final public hearing of the summer, the panel accused the former president of dereliction of duty for failing to act to stop the Capitol assault. New York Times, 3 Aug. 2022 Luria, a Navy veteran, said Trump was guilty of dereliction of duty and betrayed his oath of office. Amy Nakamura, USA TODAY, 22 July 2022 Some had predicted this hearing would prove Trump was guilty of dereliction of duty. Frida Ghitis, CNN, 22 July 2022 Violators could be found guilty of dereliction of duty, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine. Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, 26 May 2022 Dan Tierney, a spokesman for DeWine, denied that the governor or any other redistricting commission Republican is guilty of dereliction of duty, saying that the GOP map has more competitive districts and splits communities fewer times. Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland, 26 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1597, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Legal Definition
dereliction
noun
der·e·lic·tion ˌder-ə-ˈlik-shən
1
a
: an intentional abandonment
b
: a state of being abandoned
2
: a recession of water leaving permanently dry land
3
: an intentional or conscious neglect
dereliction of duty
dereliction
noun
1
as in abandonment
the act of abandoning the dereliction by the owners of a once flourishing orchard Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- abandonment
- desertion
- forsaking
- dumping
- defection
- tergiversation
- discard
- jettisoning
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- reclamation
- retention
- retrieval
- repossession
- recoupment
2
as in negligence
failure to take the care that a cautious person usually takes the ski area was not held responsible for the injury on account of the skier's own manifest dereliction Synonyms & Similar Words
- negligence
- neglectfulness
- carelessness
- neglect
- omission
- laxness
- heedlessness
- recklessness
- remissness
- malfeasance
- irresponsibility
- mismanagement
- foolhardiness
- malpractice
- slackness
- wildness
- inattention
- incaution
- incautiousness
- forgetfulness
- inadvertence
- mishandling
- shortsightedness
- inadvertency
- misconduct
- inattentiveness
- misdirection
- rashness
- delinquency
- irresponsibleness
- obliviousness
- unwariness
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- care
- awareness
- carefulness
- responsibility
- caution
- attention
- attentiveness
- alertness
- vigilance
- cautiousness
- watchfulness
- circumspection
- heedfulness
- observance
- responsibleness
3
as in neglect
the nonperformance of an assigned or expected action both sentries were to be court-martialed for dereliction of duty Synonyms & Similar Words
- negligence
- neglect
- failure
- oversight
- nonfeasance
- default
- delinquency
- carelessness
- misprision
- inadvertence
- laxity
- inadvertency
- heedlessness
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- discharge
- compliance
- fulfillment
- fulfilment
4
as in sin
a defect in character believes that society is guilty of a moral dereliction if it does not care for those unable to care for themselves Synonyms & Similar Words
- sin
- weakness
- fault
- failing
- shortcoming
- deficiency
- sinfulness
- foible
- vice
- demerit
- frailty
- evil
- feet of clay
- stain
- immorality
- imperfection
- corruption
- blemish
- blot
- want
- flaw
- minus
- depravity
- wickedness
- soft spot
- spot
- nit
- Achilles' heel
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- virtue
- merit
- excellence
- perfection
- morality
- integrity
- goodness
- righteousness
- rectitude
- probity
- postmenopausal
- postmenopausally
- postmenopause
- postmentum
- postmeridian
- postmidnight
- postmillenarian
- postmillenarianism
- postmillenarianisms
- postmillenarians
- postmillennial
- postmillennialism
- postmillennialisms
- postmillennialist
- postmillennialists
- postmineral
- postmistress
- postmistresses
- postmodern
- postmodernism
- postmodernisms
- postmodernist
- postmodernists
- postmodernity
- postmortem