Both Uses of
derelict
in
The Horse Whisperer
- Waiting at the lights, Annie, watched two derelicts huddled in a doorway, one sleeping while the other declaimed grandly to the sky.†
Chpt 5 *
- He led Tom down a muddy track, past the rusting hulks of derelict cars, to an old barn, lined either side with stalls.†
Chpt 15
Definitions:
-
(1)
(derelict as in: derelict in her duty) failing to fulfill one's responsibilities -- especially through lack of effort
-
(2)
(derelict as in: derelict ship) in terrible condition and/or abandoned
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) 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.