“Antonyms for ‘maintain’” refer to words that have the opposite meaning of “maintain”.
The verb “maintain” means to keep in a certain state, continue to have or do something, or preserve. For example, “He maintains a healthy lifestyle.”
One antonym for “maintain” is “neglect”. When someone neglects something, they fail to take care of it or give it the attention it needs. For instance, “She neglected her garden and it became overgrown.” While maintaining involves active care and upkeep, neglecting is the opposite—ignoring or not bothering with something.
Another antonym could be “abandon”. This means to leave or give up completely. For example, “They abandoned the old house.” When you maintain something, you hold on to it and keep it going. Abandoning is the act of letting go and no longer taking responsibility for it.
“discontinue” is also an antonym. It means to stop doing or providing something. For example, “The company discontinued that product line.” Maintaining implies ongoing action, whereas discontinuing is the cessation of that action.
In conclusion, words like “neglect”, “abandon”, and “discontinue” are antonyms of “maintain” as they represent actions or states that are the opposite of keeping something in a certain condition or continuing to do something.