lexicow

abandon

/əˈbændən//əˈbændən/·verb
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Definition

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.

Examples

  • Researchers who abandon a line of inquiry too early often miss what those who persist go on to find.
  • The company abandoned the project once its funding began to deplete.
  • Forced to abandon the village, the families left behind everything they could not carry.

Collocations

abandon a plan·abandon ship·abandon hope·be forced to abandon·abandon all caution

Synonyms

desert·forsake·relinquish·give up·leave behind

Antonyms

keep·retain·pursue

Word family

abandonment (noun)·abandoned (adjective)

In TOEFL & IELTS

A strong verb for IELTS Writing on policy and history — 'the government abandoned the scheme' is crisper than 'stopped'. Note the two senses: the everyday verb (give up, desert) and the literary noun 'with abandon' (without restraint). The adjective abandoned means deserted (an abandoned factory). Spelling trap: one b, and the ending is -on, not -en.