Definition

1. Verb:
   • To formally renounce or relinquish a high office, throne, power, or responsibility, especially one of sovereign authority.
   • To fail to fulfill or to give up a duty or obligation.

Usage

• Transitive verb (abdicate something): Used when the object being given up is specified.
  • The king was forced to abdicate the throne.
  • He abdicated his responsibilities as a parent.
• Intransitive verb: Used without a direct object when the context makes the relinquished position clear.
  • Facing pressure, the emperor abdicated.
  • She abdicated in favor of her son.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• "Abdicate responsibility/control": A common collocation emphasizing the abandonment of a duty or power.
  • The government has abdicated its responsibility to protect the environment.
• "Abdicate in favor of (someone)": To formally step down so that a specific person may succeed.
  • The aging monarch abdicated in favor of his eldest daughter.

Variants and Related Words

• Abdication (n): The act of abdicating.
  • His abdication caused a constitutional crisis.
• Abdicator (n): A person who abdicates.

Synonyms

• Renounce: To give up formally.
• Relinquish: To voluntarily cease to keep or claim.
• Resign: To give up an office or position.
• Step down: To resign from a high position.

Antonyms

• Assume: To take on or begin to have.
• Usurp: To take a position of power illegally or by force.
• Retain: To continue to have.

Idioms and Phrases

• "Abdicate the throne": The standard phrase for a monarch giving up the crown.
  • The queen refused to abdicate the throne.
• "Abdicate one's duty": To fail to perform a required task or obligation.
  • By ignoring the problem, he abdicated his duty as a manager.

Verb

1. give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations
   • The King abdicated when he married a divorcee