Definitions

abscond

 Play ab·scond
verb
    The definition of abscond means to leave secretly and quickly.

    An example of abscond would be a prisoner escaping from jail.


abscond

to go away hastily and secretly; run away and hide, esp. in order to escape the law

Origin of abscond

Classical Latin abscondere from ab(s)-, from, away + condere, to hide: see recondite


abscond

intransitive verb

ab·scond·ed, ab·scond·ing, ab·sconds
To leave quickly and secretly and hide oneself, often to avoid arrest or prosecution.

Origin of abscond

Latin abscondere to hide abs-, ab- away ; see ab- 1. condere to put ; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

  • ab·scond′er

    noun


abscond

Verb

(third-person singular simple present absconds, present participle absconding, simple past and past participle absconded)

  1. (intransitive, reflexive, archaic) To hide, to be in hiding or concealment.
  2. (intransitive, reflexive) To flee, often secretly; to steal away, particularly to avoid arrest or prosecution. [From mid 16th century.]
  3. (intransitive) To withdraw from. [From mid 16th century.]
  4. 1684, John Esquemeling, Henry Powell, The Buccaneers of America, published 2010, page 161:
    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
  5. To evade, to hide or flee from.
    The captain absconded his responsibility
Origin

Either from Middle French abscondre or directly from Latin abscondere, present active infinitive of abscondō (“hide”); formed from abs, ab (“away”) + condō (“put together, store”), from con (“together”) + dō (“put”) .

  • Cognate with sconce (“a type of light fixture”).

abscond - Legal Definition

v

  1. To secretly or suddenly leave a place or to go into hiding, especially to avoid arrest, prosecution, the service of a summons or other legal process, or an action by a creditor.
  2. To leave a location, often in a hurry, with money or property of another.

Synonyms

 
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  • abscond

Also Mentioned In


  • absquatulate
  • flight-risk
  • jump-one-s-bail
  • abscondment
  • absconds
  • absconding
  • absconder
  • abscondence
  • absconded
  • do-a-disappearing-act

Words near abscond in the dictionary


  • abscond
  • abscission zone
  • abscission-zones
  • abscissiones-infiniti
  • abscissions
  • absconded
  • abscondence
  • abscondences
  • absconder
  • absconders

Synonyms

» more...

  • flee
  • slip away
  • escape
  • break out

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