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
Derived 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
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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.
Abandoned for months on their fishing boat off West Africa, Indonesian sailor Surono and his shipmates face a dilemma: return home without almost a year's wages or stay on the docked vessel.
From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026
Abandoned by his mother shortly after his birth in Jamaica in 1944, Mr. Cliff was raised by his father and grandmother.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025
Abandoned at a young age by their parents, Booth and Lincoln are still stuck in survival mode.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2025
Abandoned cars sit on the side of the road covered in mud, debris has been pushed up against walls and the shutters of many businesses remain closed.
From BBC • Dec. 21, 2024
Abandoned buildings were seen less often, die naked children vanished, the bravos in the doorways seemed more sumptuously dressed.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
