abdication

noun

ab·​di·​ca·​tion ˌab-di-ˈkā-shən 

plural abdications

: an act of abdicating: such as

a

: an act of giving up sovereign power or high office

The desire of King Edward VIII to marry divorced U.S. socialite Wallis Simpson led to the king's abdication in 1936 …

—Martha Ross

From the advent of Alexander the Great, in 332 B.C., to the abdication of King Farouk, in 1952, the country was ruled without interruption by non-Egyptians.

—Milton Viorst

b

: an act of abandoning or discarding a right, responsibility, etc.

an abdication of authority

The militants took the liberties of Europe as a sign of moral and political abdication.

—Fouad Ajami

When the majority throws up its hands because the problems are too tough, that's simply an abdication of responsibility.

—Michael S. Serrill

Examples of abdication in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wiener understood that the whirlwind would come not from malevolent machines but from human abdication. —Deb Roy, The Atlantic, 15 Feb. 2026

If Pearl is an irresponsible mother—and that seems beyond dispute—her abdication of duty made a terrible sense to me, given her keen understanding of the obligation. —Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026

But inside Rosenior’s dressing room there was no abdication of responsibility. —Liam Twomey, New York Times, 1 Feb. 2026

This abdication of responsibility is then reframed as neutrality. —Jallicia Jolly, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1571, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for abdication

• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation
• adaptation