abandon

abandon - verb, noun

verb [VN]

1. ~ somebody (to something): to leave somebody, especially somebody you are responsible for, with no intention of returning.
- The baby had been abandoned by its mother.
- The study showed a deep fear among the elderly of being abandoned to the care of strangers.

2. ~ something (to somebody/ something): to leave a thing or place, especially because it is impossible or dangerous to stay.
[Synonym: leave]
- Snow forced many driver to abandon their vehicles.
- They had to abandon their lands to the invading forces.
- He gave the order to abandon ship (= to leave the ship because it was sinking.)

3. to stop supporting or helping somebody; to stop believing in something:
- The country abandoned its politicl leaders after the war.
- By 1930, he had abandoned his Marxist principles.

4.to stop doing something, especially before it is finished; to stop having something:
- They abandoned the match because of rain.
- She abandoned hope of any reconciliation.

5. ~ yourself to something (literary): to feel an emotion so strongly that you can feel nothing else:
- He abandoned himself to despair.

noun [U]

(formal) an uncontrolled way of behaving that shows that somebody does not care what other people think:
- He signed cheques with careless abandon.
[Idiom: gay (adj)]

abandoned

adjective

1. left and no longer wanted, used or needed:
an abandoned car/ house/
-The child was found abandoned but unharmed.

2. (of people or their behavior) wild, not following accepted standards