Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Willful neglect, as of duty or principle.
  • noun The act of abandoning; abandonment.
  • noun A state of abandonment or neglect.
  • noun A gaining of land by the permanent recession of the water line.
  • noun The land so gained.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of leaving with an intention not to reclaim or resume; an utter forsaking; abandonment.
  • noun The state of being forsaken or abandoned.
  • noun The gaining of land from the water by a change of the water-line.
  • noun The land so gained.
  • noun Unfaithfulness or remissness; neglect: as, a dereliction of duty.
  • noun Synonyms Desertion, relinquishment.
  • noun Failure, unfaithfulness.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of leaving with an intention not to reclaim or resume; an utter forsaking abandonment.
  • noun A neglect or omission as if by willful abandonment.
  • noun The state of being left or abandoned.
  • noun (Law) A retiring of the sea, occasioning a change of high-water mark, whereby land is gained.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun willful neglect of one's duty
  • noun the act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun willful negligence
  • noun a tendency to be negligent and uncaring

Etymologies

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