dereliction
der·e·lic·tion/dɛɹ.ɪˈlɪk.ʃən/noun
dereliction is spelled D-E-R-E-L-I-C-T-I-O-N: 11 letters and 4 syllables (der·e·lic·tion). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, dereliction means “Willful neglect of one's duty” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of dereliction is derelictions.
How many letters and syllables are in dereliction?
| Letters | 11: D-E-R-E-L-I-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: der·e·lic·tion |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 49,949th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is dereliction?
Dereliction appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 49,949th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dereliction?
- US /dɛɹ.ɪˈlɪk.ʃən/
Dereliction has 4 syllables, split der·e·lic·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-dereliction.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with dereliction?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as dereliction from its last stressed vowel (/ɪkʃən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of dereliction
- derelictions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dereliction mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Willful neglect of one's duty.
The new soldier did not clean his cabin and was scolded for dereliction and disobedience.
- 2
The act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned.
- 3
Land gained from the water by a change of water-line.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dereliction in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prévarication , déréliction |
| German | Pflichtversäumnis, Dienstpflichtverletzung , Dereliktion |
| Spanish | derelicción , derelección |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dereliction come from?
From Latin dērelictiō (“neglect, abandonment”), from dērelinquō (“to neglect, abandon”), from dē- + re- + linquō (“to leave”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).