abandon 1 of 2

1
as in to indulge
to give (oneself) over to something especially unrestrainedly more than ready to abandon himself to a life of complete idleness for the duration of his vacation

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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abandon

2 of 2

noun

Synonym Chooser

How is the word abandon different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of abandon are relinquish, resign, surrender, waive, and yield. While all these words mean "to give up completely," abandon stresses finality and completeness in giving up.

abandoned all hope

When might relinquish be a better fit than abandon?

While in some cases nearly identical to abandon, relinquish usually does not imply strong feeling but may suggest some regret, reluctance, or weakness.

relinquished her crown

When can resign be used instead of abandon?

The words resign and abandon can be used in similar contexts, but resign emphasizes voluntary relinquishment or sacrifice without struggle.

resigned her position

When is it sensible to use surrender instead of abandon?

The words surrender and abandon are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, surrender implies a giving up after a struggle to retain or resist.

surrendered their claims

Where would waive be a reasonable alternative to abandon?

The meanings of waive and abandon largely overlap; however, waive implies conceding or forgoing with little or no compulsion.

waived the right to a trial by jury

In what contexts can yield take the place of abandon?

In some situations, the words yield and abandon are roughly equivalent. However, yield implies concession or compliance or submission to force.

the troops yielded ground grudgingly

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abandon
Verb
Still, for many, baby boxes are not a reminder of a tragedy for a woman who carried a baby, gave birth alone, and then abandoned that child. Alana Semuels, Time, 8 Oct. 2025 To double down on brute force and exclusion is to abandon the foundations of durable strength. Loree Sutton, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
Soft-spoken and unrelenting, Alboury emerges as the only moral voice in a land of postcolonial abandon, refusing to let Cal get away with what may be homicide, while disrupting Horn’s romantic first night with Leonie. Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025 Naomi is a textbook Jewish mother, nagging and cajoling and smothering her children with logorrheic abandon. Alison Herman, Variety, 22 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for abandon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abandon
Verb
  • The other people Ye tries to big-foot into indulging his perverse Peter Pan complex fare more poorly.
    Derek Robertson, The Washington Examiner, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Whether that’s indulging Wes Anderson’s imagination (as a three-time member of his ever-growing ensemble) or producing her own projects, Johansson always manages to surprise.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In analyzing dozens of hours of audio and video footage of public and private speaking events for McMahon’s appointees, as well as their writings, ProPublica found that a recurring theme is the desire to enable more families to leave public schools.
    Megan O’Matz, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Varying injuries suffered by Richard Fitts, Hunter Dobbins, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck leave several starters in flux entering the offseason, while rookies Connelly Early and Payton Tolle pitched well at the end of the season.
    Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • But our flights had been canceled amid rocket fire and regional escalation, fallout from Israel’s latest offensive in Gaza and its war with Iran.
    Reem Kassis, The Atlantic, 11 Oct. 2025
  • Despite Spapens’ declaration that the Disturbed concert is canceled, tickets for the gig are still listed on Live Nation, as well as still included on the band’s tour website.
    Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The sessions will take place as the IDFA Forum discontinues the conventional post-pitch feedback format.
    Leo Barraclough, Variety, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Fans have reported across social media that the wholesale retailer has a new cake that is not unlike a fan-favorite dessert discontinued five years ago.
    Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In 1983, a report estimated that, since 1970, New York City had lost approximately three hundred and ten thousand apartments to abandonment or demolition—many were burned.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
  • For Grimsley, the deeper wound is the apparent abandonment of long-standing bipartisan commitments.
    Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In a recent speech, Kim urged Washington to drop its demand for the North to surrender its nukes as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2025
  • The 82 total yards the Broncos surrendered Sunday?
    Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The drama is set in the mid-1990s and follows a pivotal day in the life of Murphy’s eponymous character and his students amidst a world that has forsaken them.
    Nancy Tartaglione, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
  • But for the past few decades the message to young people was to urge them to forsake manual labor jobs for a college degree.
    Jamie L. LaReau, Freep.com, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • And yet, the agency’s human-resources office—which handled ethics issues—has been scrapped, according to Alt CDC, a team of anonymous public-health officials that has been crowdsourcing updates on the firings.
    Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 13 Oct. 2025
  • The main channel scrapped music videos back in 2011 and instead pushed those out to its sister channel.
    Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Abandon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abandon. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.

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