abandonment
NounUS[uh-ban-duhn-muhnt]/əˈbændənmənt/4 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (3)
- the act of giving something upSynonyms: forsakingdesertionType of rejectionKinds exposure, apostasy, bolt
- withdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibility“his abandonment of his wife and children left them penniless”Synonyms: desertiondefectionType of withdrawalKinds absence without leave, abscondment, deviationism
- the voluntary surrender of property (or a right to property) without attempting to reclaim it or give it awayType of disposal, dispositionKinds discard
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
A·ban′don·ment (-ment), noun
Origin: Cf. F. abandonnement.
1. The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.
The abandonment of the independence of Europe.— Edmund Burke
2. Mar. Law The relinquishment by the insured to the underwriters of what may remain of the property insured after a loss or damage by a peril insured against.
3. Com. Law (a) The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege, as to mill site, etc. (b) The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband, or child; desertion.
4. Careless freedom or ease; abandon. rare Thomas Carlyle
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54