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
Examples of dereliction in a Sentence
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
The root cause of these derelictions is, as always, original sin, which Reinhold Niebuhr described as the only empirically verifiable proposition of the Christian faith.
—
Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024
Whatever the case, Egypt’s dereliction to directly aid neighboring noncombatants is morally repugnant.
—David Epstein, Sun Sentinel, 19 June 2024
Further, walking back existing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — exactly one year after our skies turned apocalyptic orange from wildfire smoke — is a complete dereliction of our responsibility and a slap in the face to the next generation.
—Liz Krueger, New York Daily News, 7 June 2024
To overcome paralysis and hold officials accountable, Abadi promised to eliminate the ethno-sectarian quota system in the government and prosecute dozens of top civilian and uniformed leaders for corruption and dereliction of their duties in the face of the Islamic State’s assault.
—Ali Khedery, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2015
See all Example Sentences for dereliction 
Ramesh Ponnuru, National Review, 25 June 2024
Whatever the case, Egypt’s dereliction to directly aid neighboring noncombatants is morally repugnant.
—David Epstein, Sun Sentinel, 19 June 2024
Further, walking back existing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — exactly one year after our skies turned apocalyptic orange from wildfire smoke — is a complete dereliction of our responsibility and a slap in the face to the next generation.
—Liz Krueger, New York Daily News, 7 June 2024
To overcome paralysis and hold officials accountable, Abadi promised to eliminate the ethno-sectarian quota system in the government and prosecute dozens of top civilian and uniformed leaders for corruption and dereliction of their duties in the face of the Islamic State’s assault.
—Ali Khedery, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2015
See all Example Sentences for dereliction
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dereliction.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near dereliction
Cite this Entry
“Dereliction.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dereliction. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dereliction
noun
der·e·lic·tion
ˌder-ə-ˈlik-shən
1
: the act of abandoning : the state of being abandoned
the dereliction of a cause by its leaders
2
: neglect of one's duty
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
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