The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - abandon v.

1) give up or over, yield, surrender, leave, cede, let go, deliver (up) , turn over, relinquish: I can see no reason why we should abandon the house to thieves and vandals. 2) depart from, leave, desert, quit, go away from: The order was given to abandon ship. 3) desert, forsake, jilt, walk out on: He even abandoned his fianc‚e. 4) give up, renounce; discontinue, forgo, drop, desist, abstain from: She abandoned cigarettes and whisky after the doctor's warning. --n. 5) recklessness, intemperance, wantonness, lack of restraint, unrestraint: He behaved with wild abandon after he received the inheritance.