Dictionary

abscond en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /əbˈskɑnd/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /əbˈskɒnd/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Italic *ap Latin abder. Latin abs- Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁tder. Proto-Italic *-ðō Latin -dō Latin condō Latin abscondōder. Middle French abscondrebor. ▲ Latin abscondōbor. English abscond Either borrowed from Middle French abscondre or directly from Latin abscondō (“hide”); formed from abs, ab (“away”) + condō (“put together, store”), from con- (“together”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, set”). * Cognate with sconce (“a type of light fixture”).

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To flee, often secretly; to steal away.
   • The thieves absconded with our property.
   • Spring beckons! All things to the call respond; / The trees are leaving and cashiers abscond. 1911, Ambrose Bierce, “abscond”, in The Devil’s Dictionary, New York, N.Y.; Washington, D.C.: The Neale Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 15:
   • […] that very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond at the risk of stripes and of death. 1848, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 13, in The History of England:
   • The driver had absconded, but both railway and county police were searching for him. Mitchell was arrested in Carlisle on June 9, 1863. 1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine, page 55:
   • You abscond the fuck outta there and find a place to hide. 2011,, Kazerad, ==>, in: Prequel -or- Making A Cat Cry: The Adventure (webcomic), March 14 2011
2. (intransitive) To flee, often secretly; to steal away. ▸ To hide, conceal, or absent oneself clandestinely, with the intent to avoid legal process
   • Modern technology accompanies the absconding of the original attitude. 2006, Richard Rojcewicz, The Gods And Technology: A Reading Of Heidegger, →ISBN:
   • You cannot abscond from the responsibility both you and your partner owe to this event, and that includes dealing with anger issues and any other emotional issues that come with it. 2009, Sonia Brill, Relationships Without Anger, →ISBN:
   • I've often speculated why you don't return to America. Did you abscond with the church funds? Run off with a senator's wife? I like to think you killed a man. It's the Romantic in me. 1942, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Casablanca, spoken by Captain Renault (Claude Rains):
   • A printed leaflet of the Anushilan was dropped here, and at another place a manuscript of swadeshi songs, which has been proved to belong to Lal Mohan De, another member of the Samiti, who lived in Pulin's akhara and is now absconding. 1995, Amiya K. Samanta, Terrorism in Bengal: Origin, growth and activities of the organizations like […] , page 748:
   • Moirangthem Kalachand Singh, City Inspector, Imphal P.W. 14 searched the house of one Chaoba Singh in village Khagempali in the hope of arresting Boro Singh and Mohendra Singh accused, who were absconding in […] 1998, N. Lokendra, The Unquiet Valley: Society, Economy, and Politics of Manipur (1891-1050), page 253:
   • Andy did break his bargain, lurked in the neighborhood a few days, and then, being pursued by the sheriff, absconded to parts unknown. 1969, John Niven, Years of Turmoil: Civil War and Reconstruction, page 229:
3. (intransitive, of bee colonies) To flee, often secretly; to steal away. ▸ To abandon a hive.
   • [European honey bees] raise large colonies, hoard large quantities of honey, are more gentle than other species and almost never abscond. 2003, Randy Carl Lynn, Raising Healthy Honey Bees, Christian Veterinary Mission, page 10:
4. (intransitive) To hide, to be in hiding or concealment.
   • the Marmotto, […] which absconds all Winter doth […] live upon its own Fat. 1691-1735, John Ray, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation:
5. (transitive, uncommon) To evade, to hide or flee from.
   • In 1939 she absconded her bail in Melbourne and went to New Zealand, where she also absconded on a charge of stealing diamonds. 2011, James Morton, Susanna Lobez, Gangland Melbourne, page 47:
   • The driver snatched a packet of cigarettes out of the glove compartment and absconded the driver's seat without a word 2008, Somar, The Mystical Harvest, page 431:
   • Those who evidently did not get invited back to their top choices have already absconded the scene, tripping in their high heels as they ran. 2007, Vendela Vida, Girls on the Verge: Debutante Dips, Drive-bys, and Other Initiations, page 29:
   • The captain absconded his responsibility.
   • If the distress situation is solved successfully, the anonymous shipowner will reap the commercial benefit, if the situation ends in disaster, the shipowner will hide behind an anonymous post box in a foreign country and will abscond responsibility. 2006, Aldo E. Chircop, Olof Lindén, Places of Refuge for Ships, →ISBN:
6. (obsolete, transitive) To conceal; to take away.
   • for having applied to the Side of the Head any thin black Body, such as the Brim of a Hat, so as it may abscond the Objects that are upon that Side 1759, William Porterfield, edited by G. Hamilton and John Balfour, treatise on the eye, the manner and phaenomena of vision, volume 2:
   • They examined every prisoner by himself (who were in all about two hundred and fifty persons) where they had absconded the rest of their goods 1684, John Esquemeling, Henry Powell, The Buccaneers of America, published 2010, page 161:

Forms

Deriveds

absconsion · abscondee · abscondment · abscondancy · absquatulate · absconder · abscondence

Relateds

sconce

Synonyms

steal away · flee · run away · flee · run away · jump bail · steal away · steal away · flee · conceal · run away

Translations (106)

pt esconder-se (to flee, often secretly) · pt evadir (to withdraw from) · nl zijn biezen pakken (to flee, often secretly) · pl zbiec (to flee, often secretly) · pl ukrywać się (intransitive: to hide) · pl chować się (intransitive: to hide) · hu elszökik (to flee, often secretly) · nb stikke av (to flee, often secretly) · nl zich stilletjes uit de voeten maken (to flee, often secretly) · sh umaknuti (to withdraw from) · it occultarsi (intransitive: to hide) · fi pakoilla (oikeutta) (intransitive: to hide) · sv avvika (to withdraw from) · ca escondir (intransitive: to hide) · cs uprchnout (to flee, often secretly) · fi luikkia (to flee, often secretly) · fi piileskellä (intransitive: to hide) · pl schować (transitive: to hide; to conceal) · fi livistää (to flee, often secretly) · tr sıvışmak (to flee, often secretly) · tr saklanmak (intransitive: to hide) · fa پنهان شدن (intransitive: to hide) · mi whati (to flee, often secretly) · ca amagar (intransitive: to hide) · ru скрыва́ть (intransitive: to hide) · bg укривам се (intransitive: to hide) · sh prikriti (intransitive: to hide) · nn rømme (to flee, often secretly) · cs utéct (to flee, often secretly) · nn stikke av (to flee, often secretly) · cs uniknout (to flee, often secretly) · it nascondersi (intransitive: to hide) · la latito (to flee, often secretly) · de sich verstecken (intransitive: to hide) · es asconderse (intransitive: to hide) · sv gömma sig (intransitive: to hide) · hu elmenekül (to flee, often secretly) · fr abscondre (intransitive: to hide) · ca escapolir-se (to withdraw from) · sh umàknuti (to flee, often secretly) · nl heimelijk vertrekken (van/uit) (to flee, often secretly) · fi perääntyä (to withdraw from) · pt ocultar (intransitive: to hide) · ru уклоня́ться (to withdraw from) · hu elrejtőzik (intransitive: to hide) · it latitare (to flee, often secretly) · it squagliarsela (to withdraw from) · de davonstehlen (to flee, often secretly) · de sich zurückziehen (to withdraw from) · es asconder (transitive: to hide; to conceal) · it latitare (intransitive: to hide) · ca abscondir (intransitive: to hide) · hu meglép (to flee, often secretly) · sh uzmaknuti (to withdraw from) · ca ocultar (intransitive: to hide) · fi karata (to flee, often secretly) · sv rymma (to flee, often secretly) · bg избягвам, отдръпвам се от (to withdraw from) · nl wegrennen (intransitive: to hide) · pl zbiegać (to flee, often secretly) · pt fugir (to withdraw from) · tr tüymek (to flee, often secretly) · tr (geri) çekilmek (to withdraw from) · de sich davonmachen (to flee, often secretly) · pl unikać (to withdraw from) · pl chować (transitive: to hide; to conceal) · hu elbújik (intransitive: to hide) · bg измъквам се, заминавам тайно (to flee, often secretly) · ca escapar-se (to withdraw from) · it tacere (transitive: to hide; to conceal) · sh ùteći (to flee, often secretly) · hu elillan (to flee, often secretly) · pl uciec (to flee, often secretly) · tr kaçmak (to flee, often secretly) · sh uminuti (to withdraw from) · nl zich terugtrekken (to withdraw from) · sh sakriti (intransitive: to hide) · la lateo (to flee, often secretly) · pl ukryć (transitive: to hide; to conceal) · pt esconder (intransitive: to hide) · pl schować się (intransitive: to hide) · pl uciekać (to flee, often secretly) · es absconder (transitive: to hide; to conceal) · it tirarsi indietro (to withdraw from) · hu továbbáll (to flee, often secretly) · it occultare (transitive: to hide; to conceal) · ga teith (to flee, often secretly) · pl ukrywać (transitive: to hide; to conceal) · es absconderse (intransitive: to hide) · hu kereket old (to flee, often secretly) · nb rømme (to flee, often secretly) · hu meglóg (to flee, often secretly) · sh otići potajice (to flee, often secretly) · pl uniknąć (to withdraw from) · fa گریختن (to flee, often secretly) · ota قاچمق (to flee, often secretly) · pl ukryć się (intransitive: to hide) · sh šmugnuti (to flee, often secretly) · de türmen (to flee, often secretly) · ru избегать (to withdraw from) · ca fugir (to withdraw from) · sv lämna (to withdraw from) · it lavarsene le mani (to withdraw from) · hu megfutamodik (to flee, often secretly) · sv smita (to flee, often secretly) · hu megszökik (to flee, often secretly)