What does "derelict" mean?
Property abandoned by its former guardian or owner; (countable) an item of such property.
Derelict
/ˈdɛr.ə.lɪkt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Property abandoned by its former guardian or owner; (countable) an item of such property.
- Grammar: derelict is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abandoned, deserted, dilapidated, ramshackle.
- Useful contrasts: active ship, conscientious, current.
- Usage evidence: The Oregon Coast Aquarium is home to hundreds of aquatic species ... including two that arrived unexpectedly after a trip across the Pacific, trapped in the hull of a derelict fishing boat.
How to use "derelict"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "derelict" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "derelict" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "derelict" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "derelict" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "derelict" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abandoned" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "derelict", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Property abandoned by its former guardian or owner; (countable) an item of such property. uncountable
"But often it must have happened in a course of centuries, that plague, small-pox, cholera, the sweating-sickness, or other scourges of universal Europe and Asia, would absolutely depopulate a region no larger than an island; […] In such cases, mere strangers would oftentimes enter upon the lands as a derelict."
- 2 a ship abandoned on the high seas wordnet
- 3 Property abandoned by its former guardian or owner; (countable) an item of such property.; Property abandoned at sea with no hope of recovery and no expectation of being returned to its owner; (countable) an item of such property, especially a ship. specifically, uncountable
"Till I came to the marge of Lake Lebarge, and a derelict there lay; / It was jammed in the ice, but I saw in a trice it was called the "Alice May." / And I looked at it, and I thought a bit, and I looked at my frozen chum: / Then "Here," said I, with a sudden cry, "is my cre-ma-tor-eum.""
- 4 a person without a home, job, or property wordnet
- 5 An abandoned or forsaken person; an outcast, a waif. countable, dated
"And, think you, will the unkind ones hesitate / To try conclusions with my helplessness,— / To pounce on, misuse me, your derelict, / Helped by advantage that bereavement lends / Folks, who, while yet you lived, played tricks like these?"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A homeless or jobless person; a vagrant; also, a person who is (perceived as) negligent in their hygiene and personal affairs. broadly, countable, derogatory
"A very gratifying development of the work in this office has been the gradual improvement in the class and type of applicants. […] This improvement is due, in part to the arrangement with the Federal Employment office whereby the latter handles the common labor, in which group there is always a large percentage of transients, derelicts and loafers, hoboes and ne'er-do-wells."
- 7 A person who is negligent in performing a duty. US, countable
Verb
- 1 To abandon or forsake (someone or something). obsolete, rare, transitive
"[H]e finds a poor young fellow, a famished, sick young man, derelicted of his master, and left for dead in the march, and by the means and conduct of this wretch, David recovers the enemy, recovers the spoil, recovers his honour, and the love of his people."
- 2 To neglect a duty. intransitive, obsolete, rare
"[I]t has occurred to me, that where so momentous a point as the liberty of the subject is concerned, I should be derelicting from my duty, did I not avail myself of the assistance of His Majesty's law officer, where a doubt existed in my mind."
Adjective
- 1 Given up by the guardian or owner; abandoned, forsaken.
"[T]heſe affections, vvhich theſe expoſed or derelict children bear to their Mothers, have no grounds of nature or aſſiduity but civility and opinion; […]"
- 2 Given up by the guardian or owner; abandoned, forsaken.; Of a ship: abandoned at sea; of a spacecraft: abandoned in outer space. specifically
"There was a derelict ship on the island."
- 3 Of property: in a poor state due to abandonment or neglect; dilapidated, neglected. broadly
"There is much sad evidence, too, of the spoliation and dereliction of vanished industry: tips, slag-heaps and derelict colliery-screens among which the ubiquitous, nomad mountain sheep graze unconcernedly."
- 4 Adrift, lost. figuratively
"Deprived of his guiding influence, they vvere vvhirled about, the ſport of every guſt, and eaſily driven into any port; and as thoſe vvho joined vvith them in manning the veſſel vvere the moſt directly oppoſite to his opinions, meaſures, and character, and far the moſt artful and moſt povverful of the ſet, they eaſily prevailed, ſo as to ſeize upon the vacant, unoccupied, and derelict minds of his friends; and inſtantly they turned the veſſel vvholly out of the courſe of his policy."
- 5 Negligent in performing a duty; careless. US
"The wrongs which we have suffered from Mexico are before the world, and must deeply impress every American citizen. A Government which is either unable or unwilling to redress such wrongs is derelict to its highest duties."
Adjective
- 1 in deplorable condition wordnet
- 2 failing in what duty requires wordnet
- 3 forsaken by owner or inhabitants wordnet
- 4 worn and broken down by hard use wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"The Oregon Coast Aquarium is home to hundreds of aquatic species ... including two that arrived unexpectedly after a trip across the Pacific, trapped in the hull of a derelict fishing boat."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "derelict"?
Common synonyms include: abandoned, deserted, dilapidated, ramshackle, remiss, abandoned.
How do you use "derelict" in a sentence?
The Oregon Coast Aquarium is home to hundreds of aquatic species ... including two that arrived unexpectedly after a trip across the Pacific, trapped in the hull of a derelict fishing boat.
How do you pronounce "derelict"?
Pronounced /ˈdɛr.ə.lɪkt/.
Etymology
PIE word *de The adjective and verb are a learned borrowing from Latin dērelictus (“(completely) abandoned, deserted, forsaken; discarded”), the perfect passive participle of dērelinquō (“to abandon, desert, forsake; to discard”), from dē- (prefix meaning ‘away from; completely, thoroughly’) + relinquō (“to abandon, desert, forsake, leave (behind); to depart (from); to give up, relinquish”) (from Proto-Italic *wrelinkʷō, from *wre (“again”) (whence Latin rē- (prefix meaning ‘again’)) + *linkʷō (“to leave”) (whence linquō (“to forsake; depart from, leave, quit”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- (“to leave”))). Doublet of relict, relic, and relinquish. The noun is derived from the adjective.