as in to escape
to get free from a dangerous or confining situation
the burglar was trying to abscond with the jewels when he tumbled down the stairs
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Recent Examples of abscond
Three months later, another seven players from the senior national team absconded in the same country.
—
Simon Hughes, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Dressed as construction workers, the robbers smashed two display cases and absconded with eight pieces of jewelry belonging to Emperor Napoleon and his wife before fleeing on motorbikes.
—Mason Leath, ABC News, 27 Dec. 2025
Their legendary match at 'Money in the Bank' in 2011, which saw Punk defeat Cena for the WWE Championship before absconding with the title, is widely regarded as one of the greatest Premium Live Event endings ever.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
If not, someone could open a bank, take deposits and abscond to a tropical isle.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abscond
Simon Hughes, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Dressed as construction workers, the robbers smashed two display cases and absconded with eight pieces of jewelry belonging to Emperor Napoleon and his wife before fleeing on motorbikes.
—Mason Leath, ABC News, 27 Dec. 2025
Their legendary match at 'Money in the Bank' in 2011, which saw Punk defeat Cena for the WWE Championship before absconding with the title, is widely regarded as one of the greatest Premium Live Event endings ever.
—Andrew Ravens, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2025
If not, someone could open a bank, take deposits and abscond to a tropical isle.
—Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for abscond
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abscond
Verb
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There were no sitters within that catalogue of misses — nothing toe-curling or likely to do a million views on YouTube — but his profligacy allowed Dortmund to escape with a 2-1 win.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
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To escape Earth’s energy crunch, SpaceX is taking AI to orbit, where near-constant solar energy replaces Earth’s strained power grids.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The president flees these tradeoffs as a matter of course and flip-flops unpredictably when pressures rise.—
Edward Lotterman,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2026
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During one game, Graham felt the pass rush and fled the pocket; Brown had ordered him to stay in it, no matter what.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Carney ordered government buildings to fly flags at half-mast for the next week.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Feb. 2026
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Two airline sources said that airlines were given the impression that the closure was done out of an abundance of caution due to the FAA's inability to predict where drones might be flying.—
Brian Dakss,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abscond.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abscond. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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