Dictionary Definition
derelict adj
1 deserted or abandoned as by an owner; "a
derelict ship"
2 failing in what duty requires; "derelict (or
delinquent) in his duty"; "neglectful of his duties"; "remiss of
you not to pay your bills" [syn: delinquent, neglectful, remiss]
Noun
1 a person unable to support himself
2 a ship abandoned on the high seas [syn:
abandoned
ship]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /'dɛrəlɪkt/
- /dEr@lIkt/
Etymology
Latin derelictus past participle of derelinquere 'forsake, abandon' from de + relinquere 'leave, forsake'.Adjective
- Abandoned, forsaken; (of ship) abandoned at sea; dilapidated,
neglected.
- There was a derelict ship on the island.
- Negligent in performing a duty.
Synonyms
abandonedTranslations
abandoned
- Finnish: hylätty
- French: abandonné, délaissé; (tombé) en ruines
- Irish: tréigthe, fágtha béal in airde
- Italian: abbandonato
- Portuguese: abandonado, derelito (Brazil), derrelito (Brazil), derrelicto (Portugal)
negligent
- French: négligent
- Irish: faillitheach, faillíoch
- Italian: negligente, trascurato
- Portuguese: negligente
Noun
- Abandoned property; a ship abandoned at sea.
- An abandoned or forsaken person; an outcast.
-
- 1911: A rather pathetic figure, the Lady Frances, a beautiful woman, still in fresh middle age, and yet, by a strange chance, the last derelict of what only twenty years ago was a goodly fleet. — Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax’ (Norton 2005, p.1364)
-
- A negligent person.
Translations
abandoned property
- Italian: oggetto abbandonato, rifiuto
abandoned ship
- French: épave, navire abandonné (en mer)
- German: aufgegeben-ein verlassenes schiff
- Irish: long thréigthe
- Italian: relitto
- Portuguese: derelito (Brazil), derrelito (Brazil)
outcast
- French: épave (humaine)
- Irish: díbeartach, éan scoite
- Italian: derelitto, relitto della società
negligent person
- Irish: faillitheoir
- Italian: persona negligente
- Portuguese: pessoa negligente
Extensive Definition
Derelict or dereliction commonly refers to:
- Abandonment of property, then referred to as a 'derelict'
- Dereliction of duty, abandoning one's post
But may also refer to:
- Derelict soil, land that has been damaged by industrial or other development activity
- The Derelict, a 1912 short story by William Hope Hodgson
- The Derelicts, a 1970s British R&B band
- Derelict (song), a fictional sea-shanty from the novel Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
- A song by Beck on the album Odelay
derelict in French: déglingue
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Bowery bum, DP, Ishmael, abandoned, battered, beachcomber, beat-up, beaten
up, beggar, beggarly
fellow, behindhand,
blighter, broken-down,
budmash, bum, bummer, caitiff, careless, cast-off, castaway, castoff, culpably negligent,
declasse, decrepit, delinquent, deserted, desolate, devil, dilapidated, dilatory, dingy, disaffected, discard, discarded, disloyal, disowned, displaced person,
disregardful,
disused, dogie, down-and-out, drifter, drunkard, evictee, exile, expatriate, expellee, faded, faithless, false, fickle, floater, flotsam, flotsam and jetsam,
forsaken, foundling, good-for-naught,
good-for-nothing, heedless, hobo, human wreck, in ruins,
inadvertent,
inattentive,
inconstant, irresponsible, jetsam, jettisoned, junk, lagan, laissez-faire, lax, lazzarone, left, leper, loafer, loose, lowlife, malingerer, marooned, mauvais sujet, mean
wretch, mucker, neglected, neglectful, neglecting, negligent, no-good, noninterfering, nonrestrictive, not true
to, of bad faith, off-guard, orphan, outcast, outcast of society,
outcaste, outlaw, outside the gates,
outside the pale, overly permissive, pariah, pauvre diable, permissive, persona non
grata, pilgarlic, poor
creature, poor devil, procrastinating,
ramshackle, recreant, refuse, regardless, reject, rejected, relaxed, remiss, rubbish, ruined, ruinous, run-down, sad case, sad
sack, scamping,
seedy, shabby, skid-row bum, skimping, slack, slacker, slighting, slipshod, sloppy, slovenly, slummy, slurring, social outcast,
solitary, stiff, street arab, sundowner, swagman, threadbare, tottery, tramp, trash, trothless, truant, tumbledown, unacceptable
person, uncircumspect, uncouth, undependable, undesirable, unfaithful, unguarded, unloyal, unreliable, unrigorous, unsteadfast, untouchable, untrue, untrustworthy, unwary, unwatchful, vag, vagabond, vagrant, vaurien, waif, waifs and strays, wastrel, worthless fellow,
wretch