Abandon and pursue are opposites when it comes to a goal. To abandon a goal is to give it up — to turn away and leave it for good (abandon the plan, abandon the search). To pursue a goal is to go after it — to chase it with sustained effort, the gap still open (pursue a dream, pursue a career). One turns away from the thing; the other runs toward it.
These two face opposite directions on the same goal: away from it or after it. Abandon, from Old French abandoner ('to give up to fate'), turns its back — the goal is left, untended. Pursue, from Latin prosequi ('to follow after'), does the reverse: it keeps after the thing, closing the gap. Where abandon stops and walks off, pursue runs on. Abandon turns away; pursue goes after.
abandon
To abandon is to walk away and not come back — to give up a thing, a place, or a person entirely, leaving it to its fate. You abandon a sinking ship, an old plan, a search. The word carries finality and often a trace of failure or desertion: what is abandoned is left behind, untended, alone. There is a second, almost opposite sense in the noun phrase 'with abandon', meaning with complete freedom from restraint — but the verb is about letting go for good.
pursue
To pursue something is to go after it — to chase a person, a goal, or a line of thought with sustained effort. It comes through Old French from Latin prosequi, 'to follow after', and that following is the heart of it: a pursuit is all forward motion, the gap between you and the thing still open. You pursue a career, a degree, a suspect, an interest. Where to achieve is to reach the goal at last, and to abandon is to turn away from it, pursue is the chase still underway.
| abandon | pursue | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | to give up a goal and turn away | to go after a goal with effort |
| Direction | away from the thing | toward the thing |
| Motion | stops, walks off | keeps running, closing the gap |
| Often with | abandon a plan, the search, hope, a dream | pursue a career, a degree, a dream, an interest |
| The goal is | left, untended | chased, still ahead |
| Example | They abandoned the rescue at nightfall. | They pursued the case for years. |
They are opposites — you turn away or you go after. Abandon is the figure walking off from the shrinking light: the goal given up and left behind (abandon the plan, abandon the search). Pursue is the runner reaching for a light that keeps its lead: always after the thing, the chase still on (pursue a dream, pursue a career). If you turn your back on the goal, you abandon it; if you keep going after it, you pursue it.
abandon
- iAfter two cold weeks they abandoned the search.
- iiHe abandoned the idea once the costs became clear.
- iiiDon't abandon your studies so close to the end.
pursue
- iShe left home to pursue a career in science.
- iiThey pursued the claim through every court.
- iiiHe pursued the goal with single-minded focus.
They are opposites for a goal: to abandon a dream is to let it die, while to pursue a dream is to chase it. The same person can abandon one path to pursue another — turning away from one goal to run after a different one.