abandon
Formsabandons, abandoning, abandoned
Formsabandons, abandoning, abandoned
- 1To leave a person, place, or thing behind and not come back, especially in danger.
Like leaving a toy behind and never going back for it.
The crew had to abandon the sinking ship.
She refused to abandon her friends when things got hard.
UsageSay abandon ship, or an abandoned house.
- 2To stop doing or supporting something, or give up a belief, plan, or right.
Like dropping a game halfway and never finishing it.
They decided to abandon the plan after the storm hit.
He had to abandon his old habits to get healthy.
UsageLike give up, but more formal: abandon a plan.
Similardrop, scrap, discard, renounce, relinquish
- 3A free, wild way of acting where you follow your feelings and forget the results.
Like a dog running free in a field, full of joy and not thinking about anything.
The dancers moved with a kind of joyful abandon.
He spent his money with reckless abandon.
UsageSay with abandon or with wild abandon.
Similarunrestraint, wantonness, profligacy, libertinism
Oppositerestraint, inhibition, control, moderation
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Less common meanings
- 4To give up control and let your feelings take over.
Like letting go of a rope and falling freely into the water.
When she heard the sad news, she abandoned herself to tears.
He chose to abandon himself to the music completely.
UsageSay abandon yourself to a feeling.
Similarsurrender, yield, relinquish
Note
- 5To hand over damaged property to the insurer so you can claim it as a total loss.
Like handing a broken phone to the store and taking the full refund instead of a repair.
After the wreck, the owner decided to abandon the boat to the insurer.
The owners abandoned the wrecked ship to the insurer and claimed a total loss.
UsageSay abandon a ship to the insurer.
Similarsurrender
Note
- 6To send someone away for good and cast them out.
Being all this time abandoned from your bed.
1594, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the ShrewHere, abandoned means sent away or shut out from your own bed.Note
- 7The act of giving something up completely.
UsageToday people say abandonment.
Note
- 8To defeat someone or something and take full control of it.
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Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
From Old French abandoner, made from a ("to") plus bandon ("control"). It goes back through Latin and Frankish to a Germanic verb meaning "to proclaim or command," and is related to the word ban.
This word came into English from Old French "abandon".
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- The noun abandon entered English from Old French abandon. en.wiktionary.org