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Meaning & use

forsaken

adjective·Advanced

Last updated

UK/fəˈseɪkən/
US/fərˈseɪkən/

Meanings

  1. adjectivenot comparable

    Left completely alone and without help, especially by someone who should have stayed or cared.

    Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a forsaken child; the village felt forsaken. It is not used with more/most.

    Patterns

    • forsaken by someone
    • a forsaken place
    • feel forsaken

    The old dog looked thin and forsaken, waiting by the road for an owner who never came back.

    After the factory closed, the town felt forsaken, with empty streets and boarded-up shops.

    She described herself as forsaken by the friends who had promised to stand by her.

  2. adjectivebefore a nounliterary

    Literary: empty, ruined, or no longer cared for by anyone.

    Grammar: Mainly used in writing to describe places or things that seem forgotten and desolate.

    Patterns

    • a forsaken land
    • forsaken ruins

    The poem describes a forsaken land where no birds sing and no travelers pass.

    They explored the forsaken ruins at the edge of the forest.

Common combinations

feel forsaken
Many elderly residents feel forsaken during the winter holidays.
forsaken by God
In his despair he cried out that he had been forsaken by God.
a forsaken place
The documentary showed a forsaken place with no running water or school.
godforsaken
They were stranded in some godforsaken town miles from the highway.

Synonyms and how they differ

abandoned
More neutral and factual; it simply states that someone or something was left, without the emotional sense of betrayal that forsaken often carries.
deserted
Often used of places that are empty of people, while forsaken usually stresses that someone who needed care was left behind.
forlorn
Focuses on a sad, hopeless appearance or feeling rather than on the act of being left by others.

Opposites

cherishedprotected

Word family

forsake verb
To leave someone or something completely, especially when you should stay.
forsook verb
Past tense of forsake: he forsook his family.
forsaking verb
The -ing form of forsake, used in continuous tenses or as a noun-like form.

Commonly confused: forsaken or forgotten?

forsaken vs forgotten

Forgotten means no longer remembered; forsaken means left alone and uncared for. A forsaken place may still be remembered.

Practice

Choose the best word to complete the sentence: After her husband left and her children moved away, she felt completely ______.

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