Synonyms for forsake
fɔrˈseɪkfor·sake

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.3 / 3 votes

1. forsake

   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.

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

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

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:3.0 / 2 votes

1. 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, abandon, vacate, scourge, empty, depopulate, defect, ravage, desolate

Matched Categories

1. • Leave

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forsakeverb

   Synonyms:
   leave, quit, desert, relinquish, abandon, renounce, forswear, drop, give up, give over, cast off

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forsakeverb

   Synonyms:
   quit, abandon, leave, renounce, reject, relinquish, forswear

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "forsake":

   abandon, renounce

How to pronounce forsake?

How to say forsake in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use forsake in a sentence?

1. Ronald Reagan:

   The little dictator who went to Moscow in his green fatigues to receive a bear hug did not forsake the doctrine of Lenin when he returned to the West and appeared in a two-piece suit. (On Daniel Ortega Saavedra)

2. Bhartrihari:

   The good man shuns evil and follows good; he keeps secret that which ought to be hidden; he makes his virtues manifest to all; he does not forsake one in adversity; he gives in season: such are the marks of a worthy friend.

3. Bible, Old Testament:

   Forsake not an old friend; for the new is not comparable to him: a new friend is as new wine; when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure.

4. New Testament:

   Forsake not an old friend for the new is not comparable to him a new friend is as new wine when it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure.

5. David Rehr:

   The reality has always been that these PACs related to business interest groups will never forsake their economic interests for any other higher virtue.