abandon

1. verb

1)

the party abandoned policies that made it unelectable

Syn:

renounce, relinquish, dispense with, disclaim, forgo, disown, disavow, discard, wash one's hands of; give up, withdraw, drop, jettison, do away with; informal ax, ditch, dump, scrap, scrub, junk, deep-six; formal forswear, abjure

See note at relinquish

Ant:

keep, retain

2)

by that time, she had abandoned painting

Syn:

give up, stop, cease, drop, forgo, desist from, dispense with, have done with, abstain from, discontinue, break off, refrain from, set aside; informal cut out, kick, pack in, quit

Ant:

take up, continue

3)

he abandoned his wife and children

Syn:

desert, leave, leave high and dry, turn one's back on, cast aside, break (up) with; jilt, strand, leave stranded, leave in the lurch, throw over; informal walk out on, run out on, dump, ditch; literary forsake

4)

the skipper gave the order to abandon ship

Syn:

vacate, leave, depart from, withdraw from, quit, evacuate

5)

a vast expanse of territory was abandoned to the invaders

Syn:

relinquish, surrender, give up, cede, yield, leave

Ant:

keep, claim

6)

she abandoned herself to the sensuousness of the music

Syn:

indulge in, give way to, give oneself up to, yield to, lose oneself to/in

Ant:

control oneself

2. noun

at age sixty he had no less abandon than when he was twenty

Syn:

uninhibitedness, recklessness, lack of restraint, lack of inhibition, wildness, impulsiveness, impetuosity, immoderation, wantonness

Ant:

self-control