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abandon
[ uh-ban-duhn ]
verb (used with object)
- 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.
- to give up the control of:
After a long struggle, they abandoned the city to the invading army.
Synonyms: abdicate, waive, resign, surrender, yield
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.
- 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.
noun
- a complete surrender to natural impulses without restraint or moderation; freedom from inhibition:
During this retreat you will learn to play and dance with reckless abandon.
abandon
/ əˈbændən /
verb
- to forsake completely; desert; leave behind
to abandon a baby
drivers had to abandon their cars
- abandon shipthe order given to the crew of a ship that is about to sink to take to the lifeboats
- to give up completely
to abandon a habit
to abandon hope
- to yield control of or concern in; relinquish
to abandon office
- to give up (something begun) before completion
the game was abandoned
to abandon a job
- 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 worry
she danced with abandon
Derived Forms
- aˈbandonment, noun
Other Words From
- a·ban·don·a·ble adjective
- a·ban·don·er noun
- a·ban·don·ment noun
- un·a·ban·don·ing adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of abandon1
Word History and Origins
Origin of abandon1
Synonym Study
Example Sentences
After an outbreak in Beijing in June, China abandoned its previous strategy of confining millions of people to their homes.
Today, Rollins has largely abandoned his pursuit of the bonus payments from Medicaid.
A lifetime after Stewart turned in her stepfather and was abandoned to his abuses, four words cut across the years.
Well 20 in the Midway-Sunset field was drilled in 1927 and abandoned by Chevron in the 1980s.
Shell’s experience in 2015, when it abandoned plans to drill offshore in the Arctic under heavy pressure, indicate what other companies can expect.
They tried to continue their getaway but had to quickly abandon their vehicle on the Rue de Meaux in the 19th.
Will he go for the schoolteacher and abandon the family, leaving behind his smashing dinner suits?
After the captain made the call to abandon ship, 150 people were able to escape on lifeboats lowered by electronic arms.
No one, of course, was “repressing” Klaus or preventing him from “expressing his views,” something he does with abandon.
The show started filming in Israel over the summer, but was forced to abandon the location as political tensions escalated.
Before daybreak we had ridden five and twenty miles, but had been compelled to abandon two more guns.
In case that they would not abandon the religion which they preached, the officials of Masamune commenced to execute their orders.
They spoke like this because they are accustomed to abandon altogether those whom they have once judged incurable.
This picture laughs, as children laugh, with perfect abandon.
There are those who tell us—and they number many millions—that we must abandon them entirely.
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