abscondment

1 9.9

An act of leaving a place secretly to avoid arrest or punishment

noun
/æbˈskɒndmənt/

Formal

: fuga

The court charged her in connection with the abscondment of sensitive documents.

Examples

The abscondment of the suspect shocked the police.
The sudden abscondment of the accountant shocked the entire company.
After his abscondment with the funds, investigators launched a nationwide search.
His sudden abscondment left everyone confused.
After his abscondment from the police station, the suspect was nowhere to be found.
The thief's abscondment with the stolen jewelry took the authorities by surprise.
She was captured shortly after her abscondment, attempting to flee the country.

Synonyms

disappearance

vsabscondment

141 4.0

Someone going away secretly so no one knows where they are

focuses more on avoiding legal arrest rather than mere unknown whereabouts

evasion

vsabscondment

5 6.3

A quick movement that lets someone escape being caught

is specifically secret departure to avoid arrest or prosecution rather than general escape

eluding

vsabscondment

1 8.1

Avoiding being caught by using clever plans or quick moves

refers to secret departure aimed at avoiding arrest or prosecution rather than general avoidance

decampment

vsabscondment

9.9

Secretly leaving a place to avoid being caught

emphasizes secret departure specifically to avoid arrest or prosecution

Antonyms

arrival

324 1.0

Coming to a place, often at the end of a journey

How Secret

abscondment

Formal

1 9.9

escape

320 1.1

Surface Forms

abscondment singular

abscondments plural

Morphology

abscondment = abscond (transparent) = abscond + ment

A straightforward noun formed from the verb 'abscond' with the productive suffix '-ment', meaning 'the action or result of absconding'.

Etymology

Abscondment comes from the parts ab- ('away') and condere ('to hide'), so it literally means 'hide away'. An abscondment is therefore leaving secretly, often to avoid arrest or trouble.