What does dereliction mean?
Dereliction is a formal noun describing the failure — whether deliberate or through negligence — to carry out a duty or responsibility. Its most familiar setting is the phrase 'dereliction of duty', used in legal, military, and professional contexts to charge someone with culpably abandoning their obligations: a guard who leaves their post, or an official who ignores their responsibilities, may be accused of it. A second sense describes the state of buildings or places that have been deserted and left to decay, as in 'the dereliction of the old docks'. The word carries strong connotations of blame and abandonment, deriving from the Latin derelinquere, 'to abandon utterly'. It is useful precisely because it implies not mere oversight but a serious breach of trust or duty.
nounThe deliberate or negligent failure to fulfil a duty or responsibility. It can also mean the state of having been abandoned and left in a state of disrepair.
- The wilful or negligent failure to perform a duty or obligation, especially one owed in an official or professional capacity.
- The state of a place or thing that has been abandoned and allowed to fall into ruin or disrepair.
"He was dismissed from office for dereliction of duty."
"The officer was court-martialled for dereliction of duty after abandoning his post."
"The harbour is now a scene of dereliction, its warehouses roofless and rusting."
Usually uncountable when referring to neglect of duty; the plural occurs mainly in reference to multiple instances of such failures.
"The report catalogued numerous derelictions committed during the agency's tenure."
A soldier's worst legal charge isn't cowardice — it's 'dereliction of duty', a phrase that traces straight back to Latin for 'wholly abandoned'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dereliction
Dereliction comes from the Latin derelictionem, meaning 'a forsaking' or 'abandonment', derived from the verb derelinquere — de- ('utterly') plus relinquere ('to leave behind'). The same root gives English 'relic' and 'relinquish'. The word entered English in the early 17th century, first in theological and legal senses concerning being forsaken by God or abandoning an office, before developing its modern senses of neglected duty and abandoned decay.
Related word forms
How dereliction is actually used
Formal register; most frequent in legal, military, and official contexts in the phrase 'dereliction of duty'. The second sense, describing abandoned places, appears more in journalism and literary description.
Easily confused with dereliction
Delinquency refers to failing to do one's duty or to minor crime (especially juvenile), whereas dereliction emphasises the culpable abandonment or neglect of a duty, often in an official context.
Deprecation means expressing disapproval of something, while dereliction is the neglect or abandonment of duty.