abandon1

[uh-ban-duh n] /əˈbæn dən/
verb (used with object)
1.
to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert:
to abandon one's farm; to abandon a child; to abandon a sinking ship.
2.
to give up; discontinue; withdraw from:
to abandon a research project; to abandon hopes for a stage career.
3.
to give up the control of:
to abandon a city to an enemy army.
4.
to yield (oneself) without restraint or moderation; give (oneself) over to natural impulses, usually without self-control:
to abandon oneself to grief.
5.
Law. to cast away, leave, or desert, as property or a child.
6.
Insurance. to relinquish (insured property) to the underwriter in case of partial loss, thus enabling the insured to claim a total loss.
7.
Obsolete. to banish.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English abando(u)nen < Middle French abandoner for Old French (mettre) a bandon (put) under (someone's) jurisdiction, equivalent to a at, to (< Latin ad; see ad-) + bandon < Germanic *band; see bond1
Related forms
abandonable, adjective
abandoner, noun
abandonment, noun
nonabandonment, noun
unabandoning, adjective
Synonyms
1. See desert2 . 2. Abandon, relinquish, renounce mean to give up all concern in something. Abandon means to give up or discontinue any further interest in something because of discouragement, weariness, distaste, or the like: to abandon one's efforts. Relinquish implies being or feeling compelled to give up something one would prefer to keep: to relinquish a long-cherished desire. Renounce implies making (and perhaps formally stating) a voluntary decision to give something up: to renounce worldly pleasures. 3. yield, surrender, resign, waive, abdicate.
Antonyms
1. keep. 2. continue; begin, start. 3. retain.

abandon2

[uh-ban-duh n] /əˈbæn dən/
noun
1.
a complete surrender to natural impulses without restraint or moderation; freedom from inhibition or conventionality:
to dance with reckless abandon.
Origin
1815-25; < French, noun derivative of abandonner to abandon1
Antonyms
restraint, constraint.
Examples from the web for abandon
  • Daylight's wasting, so finally we abandon the effort.
  • I've no doubt it is due to our experiencing nature with reckless abandon.
  • But a 1962 discovery forced researchers to abandon the idea that the Vikings had only one kind of ship.
  • The major labels seem to be willing to abandon digital rights management.
  • Investors, fearful of inflation, abandon bonds.
  • We then suddenly abandon him and his family to their fate, leaving him in the enemy's hands.
  • Players who are trying to pad their stats and not take a loss simply abandon their team and go on to another game.
  • Anomalies and counterexamples could be found that lead scientists to abandon that theory and search for another.
  • Many say they'll have to sell or abandon their properties.
  • To go farther, we must abandon our car and wade across a shallow river.
British Dictionary definitions for abandon

abandon

/əˈbændən/
verb (transitive)
1.
to forsake completely; desert; leave behind: to abandon a baby, drivers had to abandon their cars
2.
abandon ship, the order given to the crew of a ship that is about to sink to take to the lifeboats
3.
to give up completely: to abandon a habit, to abandon hope
4.
to yield control of or concern in; relinquish: to abandon office
5.
to give up (something begun) before completion: to abandon a job, the game was abandoned
6.
to surrender (oneself) to emotion without restraint
7.
to give (insured property that has suffered partial loss or damage) to the insurers in order that a claim for a total loss may be made
noun
8.
freedom from inhibitions, restraint, concern, or worry: she danced with abandon
Derived Forms
abandonment, noun
Word Origin
C14: abandounen (vb), from Old French, from a bandon under one's control, in one's power, from a at, to + bandon control, power
Word Origin and History for abandon
v.

late 14c., "to give up, surrender (oneself or something), give over utterly; to yield (oneself) utterly (to religion, fornication, etc.)," from Old French abandoner (12c.), from adverbial phrase à bandon "at will, at discretion," from à "at, to" (see ad-) + bandon "power, jurisdiction," from Latin bannum, "proclamation," from a Frankish word related to ban (v.).

Mettre sa forest à bandon was a feudal law phrase in the 13th cent. = mettre sa forêt à permission, i.e. to open it freely to any one for pasture or to cut wood in; hence the later sense of giving up one's rights for a time, letting go, leaving, abandoning. [Auguste Brachet, "An Etymological Dictionary of the French Language," transl. G.W. Kitchin, Oxford, 1878]
Etymologically, the word carries a sense of "put someone under someone else's control." Meaning "to give up absolutely" is from late 14c. Related: Abandoned; abandoning.

n.

"a letting loose, surrender to natural impulses," 1822, from a sense in French abandon (see abandon (v.). Borrowed earlier (c.1400) from French in a sense "(someone's) control;" and cf. Middle English adverbial phrase at abandon, i.e. "recklessly," attested from late 14c.