What is the meaning of derelict?

noun

  • A person without a home, job, or property.
  • A ship abandoned on the high seas.

adjective

  • Worn and broken down by hard use.
    • usage: "a creaky shack"; "a decrepit bus... Its seats held together with friction tape"; "a flea-bitten sofa"; "a run-down neighborhood"; "a woebegone old shack"
  • Forsaken by owner or inhabitants .
    • usage: "weed-grown yard of an abandoned farmhouse"
  • Failing in what duty requires.
    • usage: "derelict (or delinquent) in his duty"; "neglectful of his duties"; "remiss of you not to pay your bills"
  • In deplorable condition.
    • usage: "a street of bedraggled tenements"; "a broken-down fence"; "a ramshackle old pier"; "a tumble-down shack"
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APAWordNet. (2010). derelict. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/derelict/definitions/1172256
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "derelict" http://smartdefine.org/derelict/definitions/1172256 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, derelict, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/derelict/definitions/1172256>.
MLAWordNet. "derelict" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/derelict/definitions/1172256>
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