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If you describe a decision, rule, or plan as arbitrary, you think that it was decided without any thought, standard, or system to guide it; therefore, it can seem unfair.
When you have ardor for something, you have an intense feeling of love, excitement, and admiration for it.
If you comport yourself in a particular way, you behave in that way.
A decadent person has low moral standards and is more interested in pleasure than serious matters.
Your deportment is the way you behave, walk, and stand in public.
A disclaimer is a legal statement that declares a refusal to accept responsibility in case something bad happens when a product is used.
If you show exuberance, you display great excitement, energy, and enthusiasm.
Fanaticism is the condition of being overly enthusiastic or eager about a cause to the point of being extreme and unreasonable about it.
To handle an object gingerly is to be careful and cautious with it.
When you hamper someone’s efforts, you try to slow down their progress by holding them back.
Hyperbole is a way of emphasizing something that makes it sound much more impressive or much worse than it actually is.
Insouciance is a lack of concern or worry for something that should be shown more careful attention or consideration.
An irreproachable person is very honest and so morally upright that their behavior cannot be criticized.
When you behave with moderation, you live in a balanced and measured way; you do nothing to excess.
To be politic in a decision is to be socially wise and diplomatic.
Probity is very moral and honest behavior.
Someone who is profligate is lacking in restraint, which can manifest in carelessly and wastefully using resources, such as energy or money; this kind of person can also act in an immoral way.
Propriety is behaving in a socially acceptable and appropriate way.
To be punctilious is to pay precise attention to detail.
A rapturous feeling or reaction shows extreme pleasure, excitement, or happiness.
When someone has restraint, they show self-control or self-discipline, which provides limits to what they do.
A scrupulous person takes great care to do everything in an extremely honest, conscientious, and fair manner.
Spontaneity is freedom to act when and how you want to, often in an unpredictable or unplanned way.
Something statutory, such as the power given to a governor or president, is created, established, and controlled by rules and laws; hence, it has the full force of the law behind it and must be followed.
When you stifle someone’s creativity or inner drive, you prevent it from being expressed.
When you subdue something, such as an enemy or emotions, you defeat or bring them under control.
If you show temperance, you limit yourself so that you don’t do too much of something; you act in a controlled and well-balanced way.
A feeling that is unbridled is enthusiastic and unlimited in its expression.
An action or deed is unconscionable if it is excessively shameful, unfair, or unjust and its effects are more severe than is reasonable or acceptable.
Someone who is unrestrained is free to do as they please; they are not controlled by anyone but themself, which can lead to excessive behavior.
Something that is volatile can change easily and vary widely.
A wanton action deliberately harms someone or damages something for no apparent or good reason.
Noun
abandon
uh-BAN-duhn
Context
Walking barefoot in the rain seemed like an act of carefree abandon or impulsiveness after studying in the library all day. With uncharacteristic abandon, Serena swung her sandals in her hand as she walked through puddles and allowed the rain to wash over her. Acting with such abandon was unlike her on a normal, working day, and she enjoyed the rare sense of freedom it brought.
ABandOn Harry's parents didn't like it when he listened to his favorite loud band. They reasoned that when Harry's band was on, he was acting both literally with abandon, and henceforth with abandon, because they had instructed him not to do so.
Examples
Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
— Harriet Van Horne, American newspaper columnist
They would hit only 67 home runs as a team that year. But with Whitey Herzog pushing hard, they ran with wild abandon.
—
Sports Illustrated
[Unica] Zürn might have been in terrible emotional pain—she made most of her drawings during hospital stays—but the feeling is more of happy abandon than of fear or depression.
—
The New York Times
In _Samurai Warriors: Chronicle,_ Tecmo Koei’s classic tale of superpowered feudal lords and the armies of hapless foot soldiers they mowed down with reckless abandon returns on 3DS. In 3D!
—
Wired
The idea here is that, when one acts with abandon, one is no longer personally in control, but one’s rational mind is towards or at the control of something else.
Word Constellation
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Related Words
arbitrary ·
ardor ·
decadent ·
exuberance ·
fanaticism+ ·
hyperbole ·
insouciance ·
profligate ·
rapturous ·
spontaneity+ ·
unbridled ·
unconscionable ·
unrestrained+ ·
volatile ·
wanton ·
comport ·
deportment ·
disclaimer+ ·
gingerly+ ·
hamper+ ·
irreproachable ·
moderation+ ·
politic ·
probity ·
propriety ·
punctilious ·
restraint+ ·
scrupulous ·
statutory ·
stifle+ ·
subdue+ ·
temperance+ ·
Similar sense
Opposite sense
Word Variants
abandon
v
→
leave behind
abandonment
n
→
exuberance; total surrender of personal constraints
The section lists important variants and alternate definitions of the headword. Knowing variants will often help you both remember and understand the word. Not all variants are listed - only the ones we think that are important for you to know.