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forsook

[fawr-soo k]
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verb
  1. a simple past tense of forsake.
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forsake

[fawr-seyk]
verb (used with object), for·sook, for·sak·en, for·sak·ing.
  1. to quit or leave entirely; abandon; desert: She has forsaken her country for an island in the South Pacific.
  2. to give up or renounce (a habit, way of life, etc.).
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Origin of forsake

before 900; Middle English forsaken to deny, reject, Old English forsacan, equivalent to for- for- + sacan to dispute
Related formsfor·sak·er, nounun·for·sak·ing, adjective

Synonyms for forsake

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2. forswear, relinquish, forgo.

Synonym study

1. See desert2.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for forsook

relinquish, quit, spurn, renounce, repudiate, forgo, forswear, disown, jettison, disclaim, abdicate, jilt, yield, leave, resign, surrender, desert

Examples from the Web for forsook

Historical Examples of forsook

  • And he obeyed her, forsook his unfinished tea and hurried away to the chapel.

    In a Little Town

    Rupert Hughes

  • I forsook the fountain of living water when I left off prayer.

    The Autobiography of Madame Guyon

    Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Motte Guyon

  • In 1773 he came to America, forsook the sea and settled in Virginia.

  • We forsook all trade with the white men, and forgot their tongue.

  • You forsook him when his sight was failing; you made his life very desolate.

    Romola

    George Eliot

British Dictionary definitions for forsook

forsook

verb
  1. the past tense of forsake
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forsake

verb -sakes, -saking, -sook (-ˈsʊk) or -saken (-ˈseɪkən) (tr)
  1. to abandon
  2. to give up (something valued or enjoyed)
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Derived Formsforsaker, noun

Word Origin for forsake

Old English forsacan
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

Word Origin and History for forsook

past tense of forsake.

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forsake

v.

Old English forsacan "object to, decline, oppose, refuse, deny," from for- "completely" + sacan "to deny, refuse" (see sake). Related: Forsaking.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper