abandoned

adjective

aban·​doned ə-ˈban-dənd 

1

a

: left without needed protection, care, or support

an abandoned baby

… she … began to live in what she referred to as the straitened circumstances of an abandoned woman.

—Richard Russo

b

: left by the owner

an abandoned car

: left to fall into a state of disuse

an abandoned field

abandoned property

an abandoned factory

c

: no longer held or thought of : given up

abandoned hopes/dreams

2

: wholly free from restraint

The lower the beer dropped in the kegs, the more abandoned and frenzied the dancers became.

—Don Asher

… unless you can convince them that you are as abandoned a profligate as themselves.

—George Bernard Shaw

Synonyms

• derelict
• deserted
• desolate
• disused
• forgotten
• forsaken
• rejected
• vacant
• vacated
• void

Examples of abandoned in a Sentence

He led a reckless and abandoned life and died young.

she consciously avoided walking past the abandoned house, with its broken windows and sagging porch

Recent Examples on the Web

According to the nonprofit, Kristin Davis found the abandoned and weak elephant calf while on a trip near Kenya's Chyulu Hills. —Kelli Bender, People.com, 15 Oct. 2024

Seen in a video that moves through the abandoned and disarrayed hallways of the pediatric intensive care unit at Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital in northern Gaza were several babies whose unattended bodies lay on separate hospital beds. —Yasmine Salam, NBC News, 2 Dec. 2023

The area to the east of the highway is markedly different, with lower property values and more abandoned and foreclosed homes. —Mark Walker, New York Times, 25 May 2023

Are there factors unique to Turkey and Syria that will shape the impact of the earthquake on people’s mental health? Syria may feel very abandoned. —Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from past participle of abandounen "to abandon entry 1"

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1c

Phrases Containing abandoned

• self-abandoned

Kids Definition

abandoned

adjective

aban·​doned ə-ˈban-dənd 

1

: that has been deserted : left empty or unused

an abandoned house

2

: completely free from restraint

abandoned laughter