AWL: Abandon

Abandon (verb)

Synonyms: desert, leave, forsake, vacate, walk out on, leave behind, end, cancel, stop, abort, dump, ditch, discard etc.

Antonyms: continue, keep etc.

Meanings

a) leave someone when it is your duty to stay with them and take care of them.

  • The woman abandoned her children and eloped with her boyfriend.
  • He is a dear friend. I can’t abandon him when he needs my help.
  • You shouldn’t have abandoned her. It was so cruel.

b) leave a place, because it might be dangerous to stay there

  • The epidemic outbreak in the area forced many people to abandon their homes and flee.
  • The village was abandoned during the civil war.

c) leave something in a place because you are in a hurry to leave

  • The stolen ornaments were abandoned outside the city.
  • We were forced to abandon our vehicles in the snow.

d) stop doing something because it is too difficult to continue

  • As I was making little progress I abandoned my attempt to learn French.
  • They abandoned the match because it rained.
  • This custom was abandoned several centuries ago.

e) stop behaving or talking in a particular way, because it doesn’t help you achieve what you want

  • She abandoned caution and went in pursuit of the man who might have abducted her baby.
  • The government said that although talks weren’t successful, they hadn’t abandoned their commitment to the peace process.

f) stop supporting somebody

  • A true friend is someone who doesn’t abandon you when you need him the most.

Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.