abandoned
Americanadjective
-
forsaken or deserted.
an abandoned building; an abandoned kitten.
-
unrestrained or uncontrolled; uninhibited.
She danced with abandoned enthusiasm.
-
utterly lacking in moral restraints; shameless; wicked.
an abandoned and dissolute ruler.
adjective
-
deserted
an abandoned windmill
-
forsaken
an abandoned child
-
unrestrained; uninhibited
wild, abandoned dancing
-
depraved; profligate
Synonym Usage
See immoral.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of abandoned
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; abandon + -ed 2
Explanation
There's nothing spookier than an abandoned house that's still full of dusty, decaying furniture. When something is abandoned, it's been cast off or deserted. The adjective abandoned describes something that's been given up or discarded. You can use it to talk about a kitten abandoned at an animal shelter, an old car abandoned by the side of the road, or a person's dreams of becoming an opera singer abandoned when they had kids. It comes from the French phrase mettre a bandon, "put someone under another's control."
Vocabulary lists containing abandoned
Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Homeless encampments, piles of trash, vermin, and car break-ins have bedeviled the 4000 block of Babcock Avenue in Studio City since the property was abandoned, said neighbor Clint Ledsworth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
In 2006, a Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval was abandoned after the visitors were accused of ball tampering.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
Muratov abandoned art and returned to the army, and then, after the 1917 Revolution, devoted his skills to famine relief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
Others, with flapping doors and broken windows, were surely abandoned, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
We started down the gorge and passed an abandoned sled but no driver or dogs.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
