abandonar

"To abandon, leave, or give up" — used for leaving people, places, habits, or efforts: abandonar a alguien (to abandon someone), abandonar un proyecto (to give up on a project), abandonar la carrera (to drop out of a race or program).

• Nunca abandones tus sueños. — Never abandon your dreams.
• Decidió abandonar el equipo tras la derrota. — He decided to leave the team after the loss.
• No abandones a tu mascota durante las vacaciones. — Don't abandon your pet during the holidays.

Confusing abandonar (leave/give up on) with dejar (leave, in a more neutral, everyday sense) — abandonar carries a stronger implication of desertion or neglect, so using it for something as mundane as "I left my keys at home" (dejé mis llaves en casa) sounds oddly dramatic.

• quote "No te dejaré ni te abandonaré" — A biblical promise from Josué 1:5 ("no te dejaré ni te abandonaré"), echoed in Hebreos 13:5 — one of the most frequently cited reassurance verses in Spanish-language Bibles and sermons.
• politics "Juro que ni abdicaré, ni abandonaré España" — King Juan Carlos I's oath to Lieutenant General Milans del Bosch during Spain's failed 23-F coup attempt on the night of February 23-24, 1981, refusing to abandon the country amid the military uprising — one of the most quoted lines from that crisis.