abandonment

[ uh-ban-duhn-muhnt ]

noun

1. an act or instance of leaving a person or thing permanently and completely:

   He struggles to deal with his abandonment by his wife, and now having to care for their infant alone.

2. an act or instance of permanently setting aside a principle, discontinuing an activity, etc.:

   I believe in the struggle for radical social change, but it must be accompanied by an abandonment of the notion that the end justifies the means.

3. an act or instance of giving up control of something, or of yielding to one’s impulses or to an external or spiritual force:

   No psychiatric diagnosis quite captures Hitler’s boundless will to lead, his self-deception, and his utter abandonment to evil.

Other Words From

• non·a·ban·don·ment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of abandonment¹

abandon ( def ) + -ment ( def )

Example Sentences

“I don’t hate you ’cause, Ma, you’re still beautiful to me, ’cause you’re my mom,” he raps, before recalling the tense environment of their home and his father’s abandonment of them both.

From Los Angeles Times

They will argue that the abandonment of the previous government’s plan to send some migrants to Rwanda has meant the removal of a crucial deterrent to potential crossings.

From BBC

The charges include abandonment of a person followed by death, and supply and facilitation of narcotics.

From Los Angeles Times

California’s Safely Surrendered Baby law allows for parents or guardians to confidentially surrender newborns under 72 hours old to hospitals or designated fire stations without questions or penalty of abandonment.

From Los Angeles Times

Charges included abandonment of a person followed by death, and supply and facilitation of narcotics, per a Nov. 7 statement from the National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor’s Office of Argentina.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• renunciation