Dictionary

forsake en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /fɔːˈseɪk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /fɔɹˈseɪk/ (General-American)
• /fə-/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English forsaken (“to abandon, desert, repudiate, withdraw allegiance from”), from Old English forsacan (“to oppose; to give up, renounce; to decline, refuse”), from Proto-West Germanic *frasakan (“to forsake, renounce”). By surface analysis, for- + sake. Cognates include Saterland Frisian ferseeke (“to deny, refuse”), West Frisian fersaakje, Dutch verzaken (“to renounce, forsake”), Middle High German versachen (“to deny”), Danish forsage (“to give up”), Swedish försaka (“to be without, give up”), Norwegian forsake (“to give up, renounce”), Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌺𐌰𐌽 (sakan, “to quarrel; to rebuke”), .

Meanings

1. (transitive) To abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something).
   • He is forſaken of the world, his kinfolk, friends, and acquaintance; his owne members and ſenſes faile him; yea, hee forſaketh (as it were) himſelfe, in that the very vſe of reaſon forſaketh him. 1617, John Moore, “Of the Miserable Life, and Wretched State of Man, by the Meanes of Sinne and Death”, in A Mappe of Mans Mortalitie. […], […] T[homas] S[nodham] for George Edvvards, […], →OCLC, 1st book (What Death is in It Selfe), page 44:
   • Stan: You've got to fight, Jesus. / Jesus: Why, what's the point? No one believes in me. Everyone put their money on Satan. My father forsaked^([sic]) me, the town forsaked^([sic]) me. I'm completely forsook.^([sic]) 1998 February 4, Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Dave Polsky, “Damien”, in South Park, season 1, episode 10:
   • There may be nothing noble in renouncing one's country, in abandoning one's home, in forsaking one's people; but is there not something remarkable in this great move one makes? 1910 January 12, Ameen Rihani, The Book of Khalid, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published October 1911, →OCLC, book the first (In the Exchange), page 36:
   • Do not forsake me, oh my darlin' / You made that promise when we wed / Do not forsake me, oh my darlin' / Although you're grievin', I can't be leavin' / Until I shoot Frank Miller dead 1952, “The Ballad of High Noon”, Ned Washington (lyrics), Dimitri Tiomkin (music), performed by Tex Ritter:
   • Doeſt thou forſake the deuill and all his workes? / Aunſwere. I forſake them. 1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, “Of the Administracion of Publyke Baptisme to be Used in the Churche”, in The Booke of the Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacramentes, […], London: […] Edowardi Whitchurche […], →OCLC:
   • After having opened the flood-gates to free trade, he [William Huskisson] discovered his error; but his nerve forsook him, and he could not close the gates. 1841 May 29, Richard Oastler, The Fleet Papers; Being Letters to Thomas Thornhill, Esq. […]; from Richard Oastler, […], volume I, number 22, London: W. J. Cleaver, […]; and John Pavey, […], →OCLC, page 172:
   • Saying he wanted to "speak directly to the people of Haiti," Mr. [Barack] Obama gave a brief address from the White House that was one of the sharpest displays of emotion of his presidency. "You will not be forsaken. You will not be forgotten," he said, and stopped to compose himself. "In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you." 2010 January 14, Helene Cooper, “Obama pledges aid to Haiti”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Dec 2020:
   • To ABANDON [...] to forſake utterly, to caſt off; to give up ones ſelf wholly to any prevailing Paſſion or Vice. 1726, N[athan] Bailey, “To ABANDON”, in An Universal Etymological English Dictionary: […], 3rd edition, London: […] J. Darby, […], →OCLC:
   • Let Prudence yet obſtruct thy venturous way; / And take good heed, what men will think and ſay: / That beauteous Emma vagrant courſes took; / Her father's houſe and civil life forſook; / That, full of youthful blood, and fond of man; / She to the wood-land with an exile ran. 1709, Matthew Prior, “Henry and Emma. […]”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan, […], published 1779, →OCLC, page 246:
   • That conſcience there performs her proper part, / And writes a doomſday ſentence on his heart; / Forſaking, and forſaken of all friends, / He now perceives where earthly pleaſure ends, [...] 1782, William Cowper, “Hope”, in Poems, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC, page 176:
   • Such hazard now muſt doting Tarqvin make, / Pawning his honor to obtaine his luſt, / And for himſelfe, himſelfe he muſt forſake. 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC:
   • After the junction at Saincaize the line forsakes the Loire, which it has followed for many miles, for its great tributary the Allier, and runs through St. Germain-des-Fossés, the junction for St. Etienne, and Vichy to Clermont Ferrand. 1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 665:
   • Big black horse and a cherry tree I can't quite get there 'cause my heart's forsaken me 2004, KT Tunstall, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree”, in Eye to the Telescope:
   • Thou lou'd the Church once, and didſt God adore, / But now forſakest him, thou lou'd before. 1611, Richard Brathwayte [i.e., Richard Brathwait], “The Third Sonet”, in The Golden Fleece. […], London: […] W[illiam] S[tansby] for Christopher Purfett […], →OCLC:
   • And about the ninth houre, Jeſus cried with a loud voyce, ſaying, Eli, Eli, lamaſabachthani, that is to ſay, My God, my God, why haſt thou forſaken mee? 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:46, column 1:
   • But whence comes this strange feeling of duty, which goads exceptional individuals to antagonize their neighbors, forsake peace of mind and bodily comfort, jeopardize their fortunes and their lives—to risk, in short, all those advantages which the careful observance of conventional duties would place more securely in their grasp, by strengthening their position in the social order? 2007, Alexander F[rank] Skutch, “Duty”, in Moral Foundations: An Introduction to Ethics, Mount Jackson, Va.: Axios Press, →ISBN, page 447:
2. (obsolete, transitive) To decline or refuse (something offered).
   • The youthful Bull muſt wander in the Wood; / Behind the Mountain, or beyond the Flood: / [...] / With two fair Eyes his Miſtreſs burns his Breaſt; / He looks and languiſhes, and leaves his Reſt; / Forſakes his Food, and pining for the Laſs, / Is joyleſs of the Grove, and ſpurns the growing Graſs. 1697, Virgil, “The Third Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 106, lines 329–330 and 333–336:
3. (obsolete, transitive) To avoid or shun (someone or something).
   • This was that Pascall lambe [i.e., Jesus] whose loue for vs so stood, / That on the mount of Caluerie, for vs did shed his blood: / Where hanging on the Crosse, no shame he did forsake, / Till death giuen him by pearcing speare, an ende of life did make. 1878, Thomas Tusser, “The Authors Beleefe”, in Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], →OCLC; republished as W[illiam] Payne, Sidney J[ohn Hervon] Herrtage, editors, Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for the English Dialect Society by Trübner & Co., […], 1878, →OCLC, stanza 14, page 196:
4. (obsolete, transitive) To cause disappointment to; to be insufficient for (someone or something).
   • Theſe birds, on the continent of America, continue to flutter the year round; as their food, which is the honey of flowers, never forſakes them in thoſe warm latitudes where they are found. 1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “Of the Humming-bird, and Its Varieties”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume V, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John] Nourse, […], →OCLC, part IV (Of Birds of the Sparrow Kind), page 320:

Forms

Deriveds

forsakenly · godforsakenly · forsaking · unforsaken · godforsakenness · forsaken · godforsaken · forsakenness · forsaker

Translations (66)

fi hylätä (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · el εγκαταλείπω (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · da forsage (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · pt abandonar (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · pl opuścić (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · sh napustiti (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · wyi yeaninin (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · la dēserō (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ota براقمق (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · da opgive (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · nl verzaken (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ro lepăda (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ru оста́вить (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · it rinunciare (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · es abandonar (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · es naufragar (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · nb forlate (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · cmn 拋棄 /抛弃 (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · sv försaka (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ja 見捨てる (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · et hülgama (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · el αποκηρύσσω (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ru покида́ть (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ga tréig (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ja 放棄する (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · cmn 放棄 /放弃 (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · kk безу (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · fr renoncer (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · fr abandonner (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · la relinquō (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · tr bırakmak (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · txb ār- (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · de aufgeben (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ru оставля́ть (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · el παρατώ (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · yi אַוועקוואַרפֿן (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ro părăsi (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · da forlade (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ro abandona (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · tr vazgeçmek (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · got 𐌰𐍆𐌵𐌹𐌸𐌰𐌽 (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · it abbandonare (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · kk тастау (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · sv överge (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · de im Stich lassen (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · bg изоставям (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ar هَجَرَ (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · tr terketmek (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ro renunța (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · hu cserben hagy (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ro lăsa (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · nb forsake (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · id menelantarkan (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · es jaquir (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · nl opgeven (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ru поки́нуть (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · hy լքել (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · es desamparar (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · pl porzucić (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · grc καταλείπω (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · el απαρνούμαι (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · de verlassen (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · ca abandonar (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · bg напускам (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · gd trèig (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something)) · sip ཀོས (to abandon, to give up, to leave (permanently), to renounce (someone or something))