Forsaken

How to spell forsaken

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce forsaken

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does forsaken mean?

1. adjectiveDeserted, abandoned, or left in a desolate state.
2. verbPast participle of forsake: to have abandoned, renounced, or given up someone or something.

Forsaken in a sentence

• adjective

  The forsaken farmhouse had stood empty for decades.

• verb

  He had forsaken his comfortable career to start the charity.

• adjective

  She felt utterly forsaken after her colleagues moved on without her.

• verb

  They had forsaken their old habits in favour of a healthier routine.

Where does forsaken come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from the Old English verb forsacan, which meant to renounce, refuse, or give up entirely. It was built from the intensifying prefix for-, carrying the sense of away or utterly, joined to sacan, a verb meaning to contend, dispute, or accuse. The original idea was therefore to decline or reject something by argument, which softened over time into the broader meaning of deserting or abandoning a person or place. Forsaken is simply the past participle, and it kept the old strong-verb pattern of ending in -en, the same pattern seen in taken, broken, and spoken. The root sacan is distantly related to the word sake, as in for my sake, since both spring from the idea of a cause or matter at dispute. By the medieval period the word had settled into its modern flavour of being deserted, neglected, or left desolate.

How the word is built

• for- (away, completely)
• sak (from Old English sacan: to contend, dispute)
• -en (past participle suffix)