abandon

/əˈbæn.dən/

//əˈbæn.dən// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abandon" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abandon” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,856. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,856
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - To give up or relinquish control of, to surrender or to give oneself over, or to yield to one's emotions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abandon · abandon · English

abandon · rank #6,856 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,856
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH verdict

Nearest frequency peer: verdict (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “abandon”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “abandon” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

abandon vs Abingdon
63% similar
abandon vs abandoned
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for abandon
PropertyValue
Headwordabandon
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/əˈbæn.dən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,856
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “abandon” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). abandon lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around abandon (IPA /əˈbæn.dən/), averb. Corpus frequency is #6,856 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for abandon, with forms such as "aabndon", "abadnon", and "abanddon". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "Abingdon", "abandoned", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English abandounen, from Old French abandoner, formed from a (“at, to”) + bandon (“jurisdiction, control”), from Late Latin bannum (“proclamation”), bannus, bandum, from Frankish *ban, *bann, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to proclaim, command”)… The correct English form is abandon, spelled A-B-A-N-D-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    To give up or relinquish control of, to surrender or to give oneself over, or to yield to one's emotions.
  2. 2
    To desist in doing, practicing, following, holding, or adhering to; to turn away from; to permit to lapse; to renounce; to discontinue.
  3. 3
    To leave behind; to desert, as in a ship, a position, or a person, typically in response to overwhelming odds or impending dangers; to forsake, in spite of a duty or responsibility.
  4. 4
    To subdue; to take control of.
  5. 5
    To cast out; to banish; to expel; to reject.
  6. 6
    To no longer exercise a right, title, or interest, especially with no interest of reclaiming it again; to yield; to relinquish.
  7. 7
    To surrender to the insurer (an insured item), so as to claim a total loss.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abandon appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] he abandoned himself […] to his favourite vice.
  2. In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. […] The public realm is privatised, the regulations restraining the ultra–wealthy and the companies they control are abandoned, and Edwardian levels of inequality are almost fetishised.

Etymology

From Middle English abandounen, from Old French abandoner, formed from a (“at, to”) + bandon (“jurisdiction, control”), from Late Latin bannum (“proclamation”), bannus, bandum, from Frankish *ban, *bann, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to proclaim, command”) (whence English ban), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”). See also ban, banal. Displaced Middle English forleten (“to abandon”), from Old English forlǣtan, anforlǣtan; see forlet; and Middle English forleven (“to leave behind, abandon”), from Old English forlǣfan; see forleave.

Synonyms

abdicateabjureblincast asideceasecededeliver updepart fromdesertdesist fromdiscontinuedispense withdropforgoforletforsakeforsweargive upjiltleave behindpart withquitrecantrelinquishrenouncerepudiateresignretireretractrun out onsurrendervacatewaivewithdraw fromwithsakeyieldabandonbeleavebug out

Antonyms

acquireadoptadvocatearrogatecherishclaimdefendembraceengagegainholdjoinkeepmaintainoccupyprotectretainundertakeuniteupholdvindicatehold the fortstand one's ground

This word in other languages

renunciar(Español)abandonner(Français)aufgeben(Deutsch)abandonar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aabndon
  • abadnon
  • abanddon
  • abandno
  • abandonn
  • abanndon
  • abanodn
  • abbandon
  • abnadon
  • baandon

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abandon - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

aabndon2abadnon2abanddon1abandno2abandonn1abanndon1abanodn2abbandon1
Edit distance from "abandon"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abandon"?
"abandon" is spelled A-B-A-N-D-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbæn.dən/.
What does "abandon" mean?
As a verb, "abandon" means: To give up or relinquish control of, to surrender or to give oneself over, or to yield to one's emotions.
What words are commonly confused with "abandon"?
"abandon" is commonly confused with "Abingdon", "abandoned". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abandon"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abandon" is /əˈbæn.dən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abandon"?
From Middle English abandounen, from Old French abandoner, formed from a (“at, to”) + bandon (“jurisdiction, control”), from Late Latin bannum (“proclamation”), bannus, bandum, from Frankish *ban, *bann, from Proto-Germanic *bannaną (“to proclaim,... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abandon", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

verdict#6,855vampire#6,853altered#6,861thereby#6,844

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

cleaned10 variantsPhillips10 variantsmineral10 variantscannabis10 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "abandon". Here's where to go from here.

  • "abandon" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Abingdon". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #6,856 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "A" letter cohort. A–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list