- deliberate, conscious, or wilful neglect (esp in the phrase dereliction of duty)
- the act of abandoning or deserting or the state of being abandoned or deserted
- accretion of dry land gained by the gradual receding of the sea or by a river changing its course
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
der•e•lic•tion /ˌdɛrəˈlɪkʃən/USA pronunciation
n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- deliberate neglect;
delinquency:dereliction of duty.
der•e•lic•tion
(der′ə lik′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- deliberate or conscious neglect;
negligence;
delinquency:dereliction of duty. - the act of abandoning something.
- the state of being abandoned.
- Lawa leaving dry of land by recession of the water line.
- Latin dērelictiōn- (stem of dērelictiō) an abandoning, equivalent. to dērelict(us) (see derelict) + -iōn- -ion
- 1590–1600
- 1. See neglect. 2. desertion.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
dereliction /ˌdɛrɪˈlɪkʃən/ n
'dereliction' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):