abandonment

noun

aban·​don·​ment ə-ˈban-dən-mənt 

1

: the act of abandoning something or someone

In its family and social contexts, he argues, the abandonment of children was, if not a "good thing," at least the most feasible means of family limitation during the many centuries when other methods were largely ineffective or, in the case of Christians, prohibited.

—Mary Martin McLaughlin

2

: the state of being abandoned

fear of abandonment

The opulence of her life as an expat wife failed to soothe her feelings of abandonment, boredom and oppression.

—Bob Shacochis

—sometimes used before another noun

abandonment issues

Synonyms

• abandon
• ease
• lightheartedness
• naturalness
• spontaneity
• spontaneousness
• unconstraint
• uninhibitedness
• unrestraint

Examples of abandonment in a Sentence

sang at the top of her lungs with complete abandonment in the shower

the law says abandonment by the owner of any building for more than a year entitles the city to sell it

the park commissioner cited cost considerations as the main reason for the project's abandonment

Recent Examples on the Web

Since 2023, the global online shopping cart abandonment rate has held steady at 70.19%. —Gabriel Shaoolian, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

Following the incident, the woman later identified herself and left a voicemail admitting to the abandonment. —Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025

Vallow Daybell was arrested in February 2020 in Hawaii on child abandonment counts. —Christopher Cann, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025

Criticizing Trump’s power grab in this instance feels like an abandonment of Jewish college students. —Ben Krull, New York Daily News, 12 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing abandonment

• self-abandonment

Legal Definition

abandonment

noun

aban·​don·​ment

1

: the act of abandoning property or a right: as

a

: relinquishment by an inventor of the right to enforce a patent see also dedication

b

: an author's relinquishment to the public domain of his or her copyrighted work

c

: relinquishment of a trademark established by a failure to use the trademark and an intention never to resume use

d

: the act of an insured in surrendering all rights to damaged or lost property to an insurer as a total loss compare salvage sense 2b

e

: relinquishment by a trustee in bankruptcy of interest in property in the bankruptcy estate often for a nominal sum

2

: the act of abandoning a person: as

a

: failure to have contact with a spouse that is intended to create a permanent separation

b

: failure to communicate with or provide financial support for one's child over a period of time that shows a purpose to forgo parental duties and rights

3

: the act of abandoning a contract

4

a

: the act of abandoning a course of action (as a crime)

b

: the affirmative defense (as recognized under the Model Penal Code) of voluntary withdrawal from the commission of a crime resulting from the actor's change of heart and not from intervening circumstances