abandon
Americanverb (used with object)
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abandons,
present (3rd person singular)
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abandoned,
past participle, past
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abandoning
present participle
-
to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert.
The crew finally abandoned the sinking ship and boarded a lifeboat.
He abandoned his wife and children, leaving them in poverty.
- Antonyms:
- keep
-
to give up; withdraw from; discontinue.
She had to abandon the research project when the grant money dried up.
I’ve abandoned all hope of a stage career.
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to give up the control of.
After a long struggle, they abandoned the city to the invading army.
- Antonyms:
- retain
-
to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control.
After the breakup, he fell apart and abandoned himself to grief.
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Law. to cast away, leave, or desert, as property or a child.
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Insurance. to relinquish (insured property) to the underwriter in case of partial loss, thus enabling the insured to claim a total loss.
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Obsolete. to banish.
noun
verb
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to forsake completely; desert; leave behind
to abandon a baby
drivers had to abandon their cars
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the order given to the crew of a ship that is about to sink to take to the lifeboats
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to give up completely
to abandon a habit
to abandon hope
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to yield control of or concern in; relinquish
to abandon office
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to give up (something begun) before completion
to abandon a job
the game was abandoned
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to surrender (oneself) to emotion without restraint
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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
Synonym Usage
See desert 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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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abandonsimple
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abandonssimple
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have abandonedperfect
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has abandonedperfect
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am abandoningprogressive
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are abandoningprogressive
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is abandoningprogressive
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have been abandoningperfect progressive
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has been abandoningperfect progressive
Past
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abandonedsimple
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had abandonedperfect
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was abandoningprogressive
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were abandoningprogressive
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had been abandoningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abandon
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English verb abando(u)nen, from Middle French abandoner, from Old French (mettre) a bandon “(put) under (someone's) jurisdiction,” equivalent to a “at, to” (from Latin ad; see ad-) + bandon, from Germanic band (unrecorded); see bond 1; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
To abandon something is to give it up completely. If you’re in a cabin and a forest fire approaches, you’d better get in your car and abandon your cabin, or else be prepared to abandon your life. If you abandon something, you let it go, so when you describe someone as "acting with abandon," it means they have let go of restrictions or inhibitions. Maybe you like to dance with abandon in the privacy of your own room. But abandon could also mean people have abandoned their senses. To "drive with abandon," for example, means to drive recklessly.
Vocabulary lists containing abandon
Vocabulary from the Introduction to "Reality is Broken" by Jane McGonigal
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"The Perils of Indifference," Vocabulary from the speech
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"The Story of an Hour"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Its chief executive Patrick Pouyanne has made clear it will abandon the cap if a special tax is put into place.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
However alarming the warnings might be, few seem to be taking them as a reason to abandon the AI trade that is responsible for much of the U.S. stock market’s multiyear rally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
At the same time, the White House has struck deals with offshore wind developers to abandon their plans and invest instead in U.S. fossil fuel projects such as liquified natural gas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Such weather extremes may have caused queens to abandon their nests or die, reducing the initial spring queen bounty to a more modest population.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
I could practically hear Tidings: “You let him go? A soldier does not abandon his charge!”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
The Justice Department rarely abandons cases that have already been charged, said Paul Butler, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and former federal prosecutor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
The chip abandons the standard method of spreading light into a rainbow.
From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026
Unless the Fed abandons that risk-management framework, focusing on a narrower inflation measure would not materially change policy if inflation risks are skewed one way or another.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
"It abandons Wales to a private only system no-one here, in all conscience, would design," he said.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026
Before I can comment on his ridiculous attempt at maturity, he burns his thumb and quickly abandons the effort.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
As the nation abandoned Reconstruction, a generation of politicians and historians recast Johnson as a martyr to congressional tyranny.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
The project was abandoned three years later as the number of asylum seekers fell and the cost ballooned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
In 2005, the then-Labour government abandoned plans for an asylum seekers' accommodation centre on the same site, external.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
In other words, investors have statements about safety — but no canceled equipment orders, abandoned data centers or revised spending forecasts.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
The old abandoned radar facility that looked like two giant golf balls.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
Their identities confirm that all three survived the expedition's first three years and were among the crew members who ultimately tried to escape the Arctic after abandoning the trapped ships.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Despite Infantino abandoning his proposal, the FFF said that "Fifa's governance cannot be considered resolved".
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Police were on Tuesday hunting for two thieves who escaped with two Renoir paintings from a museum in southern France, after abandoning two others in its garden as they fled, a mayor said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
That means that if the availability of electricity comes into question, abandoning old chips may become a no-brainer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
But I don’t, because I can’t bear the thought of abandoning Rosie, Bobo, and the others.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
