abandonment
/əˈbæn.d(ə)n.m(ə)nt/
"abandonment" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“abandonment” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,065 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #17,065
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
- 17
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | abandonment |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /əˈbæn.d(ə)n.m(ə)nt/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #17,065 |
| Misspellings tracked | 17 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “abandonment” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for abandonment is 11 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əˈbæn.d(ə)n.m(ə)nt/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,065 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 9 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for abandonment, with forms such as "aabndonment", "abadnonment", and "abanddonment". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French abandonnement, from abandonner (“to abandon, relinquish”). abandonner was originally equivalent to mettre à bandon (“to leave to the jurisdiction, i.e. of another”), bandon being from Medieval Latin bandum, bannum (“order, decree, ban”)… The correct English form is abandonment, spelled A-B-A-N-D-O-N-M-E-N-T.
Definition
- 1The act of abandoning, or the state of being abandoned; total desertion; relinquishment.
- 2The voluntary leaving of a person to whom one is bound by a special relation, as a wife, husband or child; desertion.
- 3An abandoned building or structure.
- 4The relinquishment of a right, claim, or privilege; relinquishment of right to secure a patent by an inventor; relinquishment of copyright by an author.
- 5The relinquishment by the insured to the underwriters of what may remain of the property insured after a loss or damage by a peril insured against.
- 6The cessation of service on a particular segment of the lines of a common carrier, as granted by a government agency.
- 7A refusal to receive freight so damaged in transit as to be worthless and render carrier liable for its value.
- 8The self-surrender to an outside influence.
- 9Abandon; careless freedom or ease; surrender to one's emotions.
Etymology
Borrowed from French abandonnement, from abandonner (“to abandon, relinquish”). abandonner was originally equivalent to mettre à bandon (“to leave to the jurisdiction, i.e. of another”), bandon being from Medieval Latin bandum, bannum (“order, decree, ban”). Equivalent to abandon + -ment. (See also English banns.)
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: aabndonment,abadnonment,abanddonment,abandnoment,abandomnent,abandonemnt,abandonmennt,abandonmentt,abandonmetn,abandonmment,abandonmnet,abandonnment,abanndonment,abanodnment,abbandonment,abnadonment,baandonment
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abandonment - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "abandonment"?
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Using “abandonment”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is A-B-A-N-D-O-N-M-E-N-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /əˈbæn.d(ə)n.m(ə)nt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.