All 3 Uses
derelict
in
Into the Wild
(Edited)
- A vintage International Harvester from the 1940s, the derelict vehicle is located twenty-five miles west of Healy as the raven flies, rusting incongruously in the fireweed beside the Stampede Trail, just beyond the boundary of Denali National Park.
p. 10.7 *derelict = in terrible condition (and abandoned)
- Several of these images show McCandless's belongings inside the derelict vehicle; as soon as Franz realizes what he's seeing, his eyes mist over, he thrusts the photos back at me without examining the rest, and the old man walks away to compose himself as I mumble a lame apology.
p. 59.5
- A week later he was back at the derelict vehicle, apparently without regret.
p. 165.3
Definitions:
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(1)
(derelict as in: derelict in her duty) failing to fulfill one's responsibilities -- especially through lack of effort
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(2)
(derelict as in: derelict ship) in terrible condition and/or abandoned
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(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) More rarely (and typically in older literature), derelict can refer to a person who is unable to support himself and is abandoned by society.