1
as in abandonment
the act of abandoning
the dereliction by the owners of a once flourishing orchard
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in weakness
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dereliction
Three Army Reserve leaders were disciplined for dereliction of duty.
—
Jade Walker, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025
There are consequences for dereliction of duty.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
There are consequences for dereliction of duty.
—Saul Elbein, The Hill, 4 Aug. 2025
The Taylor family arrived at their cabin to find it in a state of dereliction.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dereliction
Jade Walker, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025
There are consequences for dereliction of duty.
—Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025
There are consequences for dereliction of duty.
—Saul Elbein, The Hill, 4 Aug. 2025
The Taylor family arrived at their cabin to find it in a state of dereliction.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dereliction
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dereliction
Noun
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He was charged with endangerment or abandonment of a child and has pleaded not guilty.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Adrian Gonzales, 52, was acquitted on 29 counts of child abandonment and endangerment.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Rosario Soto was arrested and charged with endangering a child by criminal negligence, unlawful carrying of a weapon and reckless driving, police said.—
Briauna Brown,
CBS News,
26 Jan. 2026
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The lawsuit accuses the apartment operators of negligence and emotional distress and seeks to hold the companies accountable, as well as their owners, security teams and agents.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Critical incidents are fatalities, near fatalities and other serious injuries suspicious of abuse/neglect.—
Sarah Healy Eagan,
Hartford Courant,
27 Jan. 2026
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Because there is warmth, the interaction does not register as neglect.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Together, the cases highlight weaknesses in an industry that has long struggled to balance nutritional innovation with safety.—
Jillian Deutsch,
Bloomberg,
28 Jan. 2026
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In signing Díaz and Tucker, Los Angeles addressed two areas of weakness by throwing money at the top option on the market.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Its defense minister last week reported some 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by about 2 million Ukrainians.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Jan. 2026
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Its defense minister last week reported some 200,000 troop desertions and draft-dodging by about 2 million Ukrainians.—
Kamila Hrabchuk,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The nation was to be purged of continual sin not indeed all of its own doing—due partly to its inheritance; and yet a sin, a negation that gave the world the right to sneer at the pretensions of this republic.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
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Whatever your preconceived notions about Feldman are, Hume’s film will expand and challenge them; the movie’s greatness lies in its ability to capture all of Feldman’s contradictions and self-destructiveness, empathizing with him without soft-pedaling his sins.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Executive Director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance Paul Craney wasn’t having it, saying high utility bills in Massachusetts are the fault of Healey’s policies and the state’s NetZero by 2050 climate mandate, which favors solar, wind and battery power over natural gas.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
23 Jan. 2026
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Scientists think this white oil originated deep within the earth, traveled along the San Gabriel fault zone and was filtered through several layers of sediment.—
Jaclyn Cosgrove,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Lululemon’s failings have allowed faster-moving competitors to take market share.—
Pamela N. Danziger,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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But Spring’s back-to-basics efforts to fix those failings are starting to show results.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dereliction.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dereliction. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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