abandonment

American  

[uh-ban-duhn-muhnt] / əˈbæn dən mənt /

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.

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Other Word Forms

• nonabandonment noun

Etymology

Origin of abandonment

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

Example Sentences

Also on the list—and quite frankly, at the top of the list—was abandonment.

From Literature

While some states still enforce these laws, they often include exceptions, including parental abandonment or failure to provide support, which would relieve the adult children of any liability.

From MarketWatch

She was subsequently arrested on suspicion of animal abandonment and resisting arrest.

From Los Angeles Times

A woman has been charged with animal abandonment after she allegedly left her two-year-old dog at a Las Vegas airport, police have said.

From BBC

Kurdish education department worker Issa said the US abandonment was "a major blow to the Kurds".

From Barron's

Related Words

• renunciation