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 Word Forms

• nonabandonment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of abandonment¹

abandon ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Example Sentences

TiVo’s abandonment of hardware in favor of pitching its operating system is one manifestation of the shift.

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Numerous flashbacks include Lobb’s diary entries, which lay bare his marital infidelity and family abandonment for a second marriage to a woman not much older than his children.

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Some Democratic constituencies argue that pulling back on progressive policies like universal healthcare for undocumented immigrants represents an abandonment of core Democratic values rather than pragmatic governance.

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The incident occurred after just four minutes of the Armagh Senior Football Championship Group B game in Mullaghbawn which led to a lengthy stoppage and abandonment.

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The most significant reason for abandonment is the widespread practice of registering ships - called flags of convenience - in countries that have weak shipping rules, according to ITF.

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Related Words

• renunciation