From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
forsake
v : leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the
lurch; "The mother deserted her children" [syn:
abandon, desolate, desert]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Forsake \For*sake"\, v. t. [imp. Forsook; p. p. Forsaken; p.
pr. & vb. n. Forsaking.] [AS. forsacan to oppose, refuse;
for- + sacan to contend, strive; akin to Goth. sakan. See
For-, and Sake.]
1. To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to
depart or withdraw from; to leave; as, false friends and
flatterers forsake us in adversity.
[1913 Webster]
If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my
judgments. --Ps. lxxxix.
30.
[1913 Webster]
2. To renounce; to reject; to refuse.
[1913 Webster]
If you forsake the offer of their love. --Shak.
Syn: To abandon; quit; desert; fail; relinquish; give up;
renounce; reject. See Abandon.
[1913 Webster]