abandon

[ uh-ban-duhn ]

/ əˈbæn dən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR abandon ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert: to abandon one's farm; to abandon a child; to abandon a sinking ship.

to give up; discontinue; withdraw from: to abandon a research project; to abandon hopes for a stage career.

to give up the control of: to abandon a city to an enemy army.

to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control: to abandon oneself to grief.

Law. to cast away, leave, or desert, as property or a child.

Insurance. to relinquish (insured property) to the underwriter in case of partial loss, thus enabling the insured to claim a total loss.

Obsolete. to banish.

Nearby words

abailard, abakan, abalone, abamp, abampere, abandon, abandon hope, all ye who enter here, abandoned, abandonee, abandonment, abandonware

Origin of abandon

1325–75; Middle English abando(u)nen < Middle French abandoner for Old French (mettre) a bandon (put) under (someone's) jurisdiction, equivalent to a at, to (< Latin ad; see ad-) + bandon < Germanic *band; see bond¹

SYNONYMS FOR abandon

3 yield, surrender, resign, waive, abdicate.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR abandon ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR abandon

1 keep.

2 continue; begin, start.

3 retain.

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Related forms

a·ban·don·a·ble, adjectivea·ban·don·er, nouna·ban·don·ment, nounnon·a·ban·don·ment, noun

un·a·ban·don·ing, adjective

Synonym study

1. See desert². 2. Abandon, relinquish, renounce mean to give up all concern in something. Abandon means to give up or discontinue any further interest in something because of discouragement, weariness, distaste, or the like: to abandon one's efforts. Relinquish implies being or feeling compelled to give up something one would prefer to keep: to relinquish a long-cherished desire. Renounce implies making (and perhaps formally stating) a voluntary decision to give something up: to renounce worldly pleasures.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for abandonment

Every adopted person has to deal with the fact of abandonment, and what that has done to them.
Frances McDormand on 'Olive Kitteridge,' Dropping LSD, and Her Beef With FX's 'Fargo'|Marlow Stern|September 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sense of insecurity is heightened by the uncertainty and a feeling of abandonment.
Jews in East Ukraine Are Being Threatened, But By Whom?|Anna Nemtsova|April 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Harry and Peter are bound by the loss of their fathers and their abandonment issues.
Marc Webb Takes Us Inside ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ and Discusses His Rise to the A-List|Marlow Stern|March 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
From The Novel Cure: From Abandonment to Zestlessness: 751 Books to Cure What Ails You by Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin.
How to Cure Your Anxiety? Read Henry James’s ‘The Portrait of a Lady,’ Of Course.|Ella Berthoud, Susan Elderkind|September 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Of course arch-conservatives think social breakdown is caused by the abandonment of traditional gender roles.
Mississippi’s Governor Has Some Bad Ideas|Michelle Goldberg|June 7, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I request gentlemen to reflect, whether this is not, in point of fact, an abandonment of the other points in dispute?
Abridgement of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856 (4 of 16 vol.)|Various
But the step would have been more hazardous and desperate than the abandonment of Peshawar by his brother John.
India Under British Rule|James Talboys Wheeler
And then all the concentrated anger she felt at his abandonment of her flamed out in her eyes.
Nana, The Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille|Emile Zola
He did not ask the abandonment of British dominion in India, though he may have doubted the wisdom of its conquest.
Political Thought in England from Locke to Bentham|Harold J. Laski
We should learn to rest by changing our employment, not by its abandonment.
Autobiography of Frank G. Allen, Minister of the Gospel|Frank G. Allen

British Dictionary definitions for abandonment

abandon

/ (əˈbændən) /

verb (tr)

to forsake completely; desert; leave behindto abandon a baby; drivers had to abandon their cars

abandon ship the order given to the crew of a ship that is about to sink to take to the lifeboats

to give up completelyto abandon a habit; to abandon hope

to yield control of or concern in; relinquishto abandon office

to give up (something begun) before completionto abandon a job; the game was abandoned

to surrender (oneself) to emotion without restraint

to give (insured property that has suffered partial loss or damage) to the insurers in order that a claim for a total loss may be made

noun

freedom from inhibitions, restraint, concern, or worryshe danced with abandon

Derived Forms

abandonment, noun

Word Origin for abandon

C14: abandounen (vb), from Old French, from a bandon under one's control, in one's power, from a at, to + bandon control, power

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012