abandon
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To leave someone or something behind and not come back.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhbanduhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈbændən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To leave behind; to desert, as in a ship, a position, or a person, typically in response to overwhelming odds or impending dangers; to forsake, in spite of a duty or responsibility.
“We abandoned the old car in the empty parking lot.”
Give up with the intent of never claiming again
transitive
To give up or relinquish control of, to surrender or to give oneself over, or to yield to one's emotions.
Leave behind empty; move out of
Leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
transitive
To no longer exercise a right, title, or interest, especially with no interest of reclaiming it again; to yield; to relinquish.
noun
A yielding to natural impulses or inhibitions; freedom from artificial constraint, with loss of appreciation of consequences. (Now especially in the phrase with abandon.)
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To leave behind; to desert, as in a ship, a position, or a person, typically in response to overwhelming odds or impending dangers; to forsake, in spite of a duty or responsibility.
To 'abandon' here means to leave something or someone behind, often due to danger or a lack of care. It carries a strong negative connotation, suggesting neglect or dereliction of duty, unlike merely 'leaving.' Think 'abandoned house' or 'abandoned pet.'
“We abandoned the old car in the empty parking lot.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where you'll really hear it
News report (disaster)
“The crew had to abandon the sinking ship before it capsized.”
Police report
“Witnesses saw the driver abandon the car after the accident.”
Discussion about pets
“It's cruel to abandon a pet; they rely on us for everything.”
Where it naturally appears
- Ethics/values
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use abandon
- “We abandoned the old car in the empty parking lot.”verb
- “He abandoned the thought of asking for her hand in marriage.”verb
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Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
The act of giving something up.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown.
Someone for whom hope has been abandoned.
A ship abandoned on the high seas.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.