Desertion
[dɪ'zɜːʃn] or [dɪ'zɝʃən]
Definition
(noun.) withdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibility; 'his abandonment of his wife and children left them penniless'.
Edited by Leopold--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The act of deserting or forsaking; abandonment of a service, a cause, a party, a friend, or any post of duty; the quitting of one's duties willfully and without right; esp., an absconding from military or naval service.
(n.) The state of being forsaken; desolation; as, the king in his desertion.
(n.) Abandonment by God; spiritual despondency.
Edited by Lizzie
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Abandonment, relinquishment, dereliction.
Edited by Lizzie
Examples
- The shame, desertion, wretchedness, and exposure of the great capital; the wet, the cold, the slow hours, and the swift clouds of the dismal night. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- A great naval battle at Actium (31 B.C.) was decided by the unexpected desertion of Cleopatra with sixty ships in the midst of the fight. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- She did not want exposure to be added to desertion. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- The little girl whom Adrian had rescued from utter desertion, during our ride through London on the twentieth of November, died at Auxerre. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- An unnatural silence and desertion reigned there. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Once--but once--she noticed the desertion, and holding out her white hand, and speaking softly, tried to coax him back. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Fresh lamentations from Louisa, and deeper affliction on Mr. Gradgrind's part, followed this desertion of them by their last friend. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Sir Percival's angry commentary on his friend's desertion of him had not produced the slightest effect. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Mrs. Gardiner then rallied her niece on Wickham's desertion, and complimented her on bearing it so well. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- I replied-- There is no dishonour, no breach of promise, no desertion in the case. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- The people had grown tired of the war, and desertions from the Confederate army were much more numerous than the voluntary accessions. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
Checker: Percy