Antonyms for abandon
əˈbæn dənaban·don

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.8 / 16 votes

1. abandon

   Abandon is a word of wide signification, applying to persons or things of any kind; abdicate and resign apply to office, authority, or power; cede to territorial possessions; surrender especially to military force, and more generally to any demand, claim, passion, etc. Quit carries an idea of suddenness or abruptness not necessarily implied in abandon, and may not have the same suggestion of finality. The king abdicates his throne, cedes his territory, deserts his followers, renounces his religion, relinquishes his titles, abandons his designs. A cowardly officer deserts his ship; the helpless passengers abandon it. We quit business, give up property, resign office, abandon a habit or a trust. Relinquish commonly implies reluctance; the fainting hand relinquishes its grasp; the creditor relinquishes his claim. Abandon implies previous association with responsibility for or control of; forsake implies previous association with inclination or attachment, real or assumed; a man may abandon or forsake house or friends; he abandons an enterprise; forsakes God. Abandon is applied to both good and evil action; a thief abandons his designs, a man his principles. Forsake, like abandon, may be used either in the favorable or unfavorable sense; desert is always unfavorable, involving a breach of duty, except when used of mere localities; as, "the Deserted Village." While a monarch abdicates, a president or other elected or appointed officer resigns. It was held that James II. abdicated his throne by deserting it.

   Antonyms:
   adopt, advocate, assert, cherish, claim, court, defend, favor, haunt, hold, keep, maintain, occupy, prosecute, protect, pursue, retain, seek, support, undertake, uphold, vindicate

   Synonyms:
   abdicate, abjure, cast off, cease, cede, depart from, desert, discontinue, forego, forsake, forswear, give up, leave, quit, recant, relinquish, renounce, repudiate, resign, retire from, retract, surrender, vacate, withdraw from

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.7 / 12 votes

1. abandon

   Antonyms:
   pursue, prosecute, undertake, seek, court, cherish, favor, protect, claim, maintain, defend, advocate, retain, support, uphold, occupy, haunt, hold, assert, vindicate, keep

   Synonyms:
   leave, forsake, desert, renounce, cease, relinquish, discontinue, castoff, resign, retire, quit, forego, forswear, depart from, vacate, surrender, abjure, repudiate

Matched Categories

1. • Discard
   • Leave
   • Unrestraint

Princeton's WordNetRate these antonyms:1.8 / 6 votes

1. abandon, wantonness, unconstraintnoun

   the trait of lacking restraint or control; reckless freedom from inhibition or worry

   "she danced with abandon"

   Synonyms:
   wantonness, wildness, licentiousness, unconstraint

2. wildness, abandonverb

   a feeling of extreme emotional intensity

   "the wildness of his anger"

   Synonyms:
   fury, unconstraint, wantonness, wildness, violence, vehemence, furiousness, ferocity, fierceness

3. abandonverb

   forsake, leave behind

   "We abandoned the old car in the empty parking lot"

   Synonyms:
   give up, vacate, empty, desert, forsake, desolate

4. abandon, give upverb

   give up with the intent of never claiming again

   "Abandon your life to God"; "She gave up her children to her ex-husband when she moved to Tahiti"; "We gave the drowning victim up for dead"

   Synonyms:
   spare, allow, forfeit, vacate, release, give up, forsake, forgo, kick, throw in, surrender, part with, fall by the wayside, desolate, lay off, waive, throw overboard, dispense with, cede, stop, empty, desert, relinquish, throw in the towel, deliver, resign, cease, chuck up the sponge, renounce, discontinue, drop out, free, drop by the wayside, forego, quit

5. vacate, empty, abandonverb

   leave behind empty; move out of

   "You must vacate your office by tonight"

   Synonyms:
   overturn, lift, vacate, annul, rescind, countermand, discharge, evacuate, reverse, renounce, desolate, give up, resign, desert, revoke, empty, forsake, void, repeal

6. abandon, give upverb

   stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims

   "He abandoned the thought of asking for her hand in marriage"; "Both sides have to give up some claims in these negotiations"

   Synonyms:
   spare, allow, forfeit, vacate, release, give up, forsake, forgo, kick, throw in, surrender, part with, fall by the wayside, desolate, lay off, waive, throw overboard, dispense with, cede, stop, empty, desert, relinquish, throw in the towel, deliver, resign, cease, chuck up the sponge, renounce, discontinue, drop out, free, drop by the wayside, forego, quit

7. abandon, forsake, desolate, desertverb

   leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch

   "The mother deserted her children"

   Synonyms:
   waste, devastate, give up, desert, lay waste to, vacate, scourge, empty, depopulate, defect, forsake, ravage, desolate

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:2.0 / 1 vote

1. abandonnoun

   Synonyms:
   unrestraint, wantonness

2. abandonverb

   Antonyms:
   retain, maintain, continue, cherish

   Synonyms:
   desert, forsake, forego, discard, relinquish, repudiate, waive, renounce, abdicate

Editors ContributionRate these antonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. persisted

   to leave completely and finally

   Submitted by anonymous on October 7, 2019  

How to use abandon in a sentence?

1. Bill Gross on Tuesday:

   Defendants now seek to avoid the consequences of their actions by falsely claiming that Mr. Gross suddenly decided to abandon the company that he founded.

2. Jeffrey Morgan:

   I have a hard time when we abandon friends who have stuck their necks out for us.

3. Mike Gallagher:

   This is exactly what many Democrats said they wanted, they pushed back on the administration. They begged and pleaded the president to abandon the Taliban's surrender date.

4. Brian Winter:

   Clearly at some level a decision was made to abandon some of the pillars of the U.S. policy toward Venezuela these past few years, but until we know precisely what the Biden administration is trying to achieve, it’ll be difficult to evaluate how far this détente can go.

5. Charles Blanke:

   Doctors are obligated to help patients in ways likely to make a difference in their quality of life – controlling pain, improving mood, addressing sleeplessness, etc. – and should offer chemotherapy only as a last resort for those who still want it after true informed consent as to the unlikelihood of it doing any good, doctors need to emphasize they will not abandon the patient with end-stage disease, and that there are ways to help that are not ‘active treatment,’.

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