desertion (n.)

  1. withdrawing support or help despite allegiance or responsibility; his abandonment of his wife and children left them penniless

    [ Syn: abandonment , defection ]

  2. the act of giving something up

    [ Syn: abandonment , forsaking ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.