English Meaning & Definitions
To cease to support or look after; to desert or leave behind permanently.
- “The captain gave the order to abandon ship as the water rose.”
- “They were forced to abandon their car in the middle of the snowstorm.”
Complete lack of inhibition or restraint.
- “She danced with wild abandon at the festival.”
- “He spent his inheritance with reckless abandon.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “abandon”.
Derived from the Old French 'abandoner', which stems from the phrase 'a bandon', meaning 'at (someone's) jurisdiction or control'. It evolved from the Germanic root 'bannan' (to proclaim or summon), eventually shifting in meaning from 'to put under the control of another' to 'to give up entirely'.
A-BAND-ON: Imagine a band playing on a sinking ship; they have to abandon the stage.
Frequently Asked Questions About “abandon”
1. What is the meaning of “abandon” in English?
In English, abandon (verb) is defined as: “To cease to support or look after; to desert or leave behind permanently.”.
2. How do you use “abandon” in a sentence?
“The captain gave the order to abandon ship as the water rose.”
3. What are English synonyms of “abandon”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “abandon”?
Derived from the Old French 'abandoner', which stems from the phrase 'a bandon', meaning 'at (someone's) jurisdiction or control'. It evolved from the Germanic root 'bannan' (to proclaim or summon), eventually shifting in meaning from 'to put under the control of another' to 'to give up entirely'.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.
A specific duration of time equivalent to one hour and forty-six minutes.