Abandonment

/əˈbændənmənt/

nounIntermediate📊CommonAction
1 meaning1 idiom/phrase1 question

Definitions

1

The act of giving up or relinquishing something, such as a right, claim, or interest

/əˈbændənmənt/

nounneutralIntermediate
Action

The act of giving up or relinquishing something

The team's abandonment of the game plan led to their defeat.

💡 Simply: Giving up or stopping something

More Examples

2

The city's abandonment of the downtown area led to increased crime and decay.

How It's Used

Law

"The company's abandonment of the project resulted in significant financial losses."

Psychology

"The child's abandonment issues stemmed from being left alone at a young age."

Idioms & expressions

to abandon ship

to leave a situation or project because it is failing or no longer viable

"The company's investors decided to abandon ship after the financial reports showed significant losses."

From Old French 'abandoner', meaning 'to relinquish or give up', derived from 'a' (to) and 'bandon' (power, authority), and Latin 'ab' (from) and 'donare' (to give).

The word 'abandonment' has been used in English since the 15th century, initially in the context of law and later in literature and psychology.

Memory tip

ABANDON: Act of Bringing An End to Not Desired Obligations or Needs

Word Origin

Original meaning

"from, away from"

abandon all hopeabandon shipabandon oneself to

Common misspellings

abandondmentabandomentabandment

Usage

20%Spoken
80%Written