derelict

1 of 2

adjective

der·e·lict ˈder-ə-ˌlikt

ˈde-rə-

Synonyms of derelict next

: abandoned especially by the owner or occupant

derelict warehouses

also : run-down

a derelict neighborhood

: lacking a sense of duty : negligent

derelict in his duty

derelict landlords

derelict

2 of 2

noun

: something voluntarily abandoned

especially : a ship abandoned on the high seas

geology : a tract of land left dry by receding water

: a destitute homeless social misfit : vagrant, bum

Did you know?

Derelict Has Latin Roots

The Latin verb relinquere, meaning "to leave behind," left behind a few English derivatives, including derelict. Something derelict has been left behind, or at least appears that way. In another sense, someone who is derelict leaves behind or neglects their duties or obligations. Another descendant of relinquere is relinquish, meaning "to leave behind," "to give up," or "to release." Relic is another example of a word that ultimately comes from relinquere. Relics, in the original sense of the term, referred to things treasured for their association with a saint or martyr—that is, objects saints and martyrs had left behind. Relinquere also gives English its name for the containers or shrines which hold relics, reliquary.

Examples of derelict in a Sentence

Adjective The officer was charged with being derelict in his duty. the guards were judged derelict in their duty Noun It was a run-down neighborhood filled with drugs addicts and derelicts. a section of the city that seemed to be frequented mostly by derelicts

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Those who would be hit the hardest include land speculators who own vacant lots across the city, owners of empty and derelict buildings, scrapyards and auto salvage yards in the city and parking lot owners. —

Detroit Free Press, 31 Aug. 2023 That means while Parks and Recreation employees cleaned out unwanted garbage and unclaimed detritus, and a lone Community Service Officer affixed red tags to a handful of derelict cars, the city could not tell people to leave or confiscate their property. —

Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 28 June 2023 Like a lot of things in Detroit, the plant at 461 Piquette Ave. was a marvel in its day and a derelict wreck 25 years ago, when a group of volunteers began a painstaking renovation that continues today. —

Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 27 Aug. 2023 At the same time across town, another agent is in the basement of a derelict church trying to disarm the reverend’s equally sadistic brother in hand-to-hand combat. —

Hunter Ingram, Variety, 19 Aug. 2023 Layer by layer, location by location, Occupied City builds a sense of place (as did the director’s Small Axe anthology at its strongest), from the museums to the famous red-light district, from the lush parks to a derelict Jewish cemetery. —

Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2023 There are also survivalist compounds out on the roadless salt flats—Mad Max-like fortifications built of tractor-trailer containers, junked RVs, tarps and other derelict stuff. —

Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023 There's hardly anything spookier than a derelict hospital. —

Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 11 Aug. 2023 Gravel driveway, partly washed away and looking derelict, shameful. —

Joyce Carol Oates, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023

Noun

The development is the latest step in a yearslong effort to see the derelict building rehabilitated. —

Alex Dalton, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2023 The cast from Bram Stoker’s novel are transposed to space junkers, who come across the derelict spaceship Demeter. —

Vulture, 13 Aug. 2023 Parkrose resident Angela Baker blames the property’s owner and developer for the fire because the companies haven’t made sure people couldn’t get into the derelict building. —

oregonlive, 19 July 2023 Reviving the derelict town, located between the Palestinian cities of Nablus and Jenin, would boost Israel’s presence in one of the few sections of the West Bank not already carved up by Jewish settlements, and the restrictions on Arab residents that come with them. —

Eleanor H. Reich, Washington Post, 17 June 2023 Several dozen empty wine bottles, amounting to a derelict’s boozy remains, were glued together into a loop that holds a battered bucket aloft. —

Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2023 But why build a new tourist attraction when there are derelict structures just begging for a retrofit? —

Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010 Blowing up derelict rocket bodies won’t work, since that just creates lots of smaller, untrackable debris that goes off in different directions, McClintock says. —

Ramin Skibba, Wired, 31 Jan. 2022 The spectacular canal that was 2,500 years in the making Developers have been eying the derelict factories, in much the same way that industrial areas on the fringes of other global cities have been earmarked for hipsterization. —

Elinda Labropoulou, CNN, 20 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'derelict.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.