Definition of «abdication»

The act or an instance of voluntarily relinquishing, surrendering, or giving up one's throne, office, position, or rights.

The king's abdication left the throne vacant and triggered a succession crisis.
After years of controversy, the CEO announced his abdication from the company, citing personal reasons.
The politician faced public backlash after rumors of his imminent abdication from politics spread.
The abdication of responsibility by the government led to a sharp decline in public services.
The sudden abdication of the team captain caused chaos within the sports club.

While I call it a form of abdication of responsibility, the use of literary agents as the first line of readers has, thus, become the norm because publishers couldn't keep enough readers on staff to handle everything coming in. (writerunboxed.com)
Self - mockingly describing himself as «an out - of - touch lawyer who does not know the political realities», the crossbencher suggested the referendum had been «an extraordinary abdication by Parliament and representatives of the country of their own responsibilities. (dailymail.co.uk)
This is a complete abdication of responsibility by our legislative leaders. (nystateofpolitics.com)
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