Meanings
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1
verb
to leave a person or place forever, especially someone who needs you
He abandoned his family and moved abroad.
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2
verb
to stop doing something before it is finished, usually permanently
They abandoned the project when the money ran out.
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3
verb
to give up an idea, belief, or plan completely
We had to abandon our travel plans because of the storm.
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4
verb
to let yourself be completely controlled by a feeling
She abandoned herself to grief after the news.
Thesaurus
Common collocations
Etymology
From Middle English abandounen, from Old French abandoner, formed from a (“at, to”) + bandon (“jurisdiction, control”), from Late Latin bannum (“proclamation”), bannus, bandum, from Frankish *ban, *bann, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to proclaim, command”) (whence English ban), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”). See also ban, banal. Displaced Middle English forleten (“to abandon”), from Old English forlǣtan, anforlǣtan; see forlet; and Middle English forleven (“to leave behind, abandon”), from Old English forlǣfan; see forleave.