left-behinds
Things not taken
Left-behinds are things or people that remain after others have moved on or departed.
The term often carries pathos—belongings abandoned in a move, children whose parents emigrated without them, or communities bypassed by economic progress: The factory closures created a generation of left-behinds.
In military contexts, left-behinds are personnel or equipment remaining after withdrawal.
Preserved items from antiquity
- vestigesRemaining traces of something
- tracesSlight remaining amounts
- residueMatter left behind
- scrapsSmall remaining pieces
leavings · fragments · debris · dregs · remains · artifacts · ruins · heirlooms
Completely abandoned or discarded
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- strandedLeft without means to leave
- maroonedLeft stranded and helpless
- jiltedAbruptly rejected romantically
discarded · castoff · rejected · disowned · shunned · orphaned · ditched · dumped
Put in wrong location
- missingNot present, whereabouts unknown
- unclaimedNot yet taken
- strayedMoved off course
- separatedPut or kept apart
displaced · adrift · astray · vanished · gone · disappeared · wandered · straggler
Not noticed or considered
- neglectedNot given proper attention
- ignoredPurposely not noticed
- disregardedNot given consideration
- unnoticedNot perceived by anyone
forgotten · underserved · disenfranchised · excluded · sidelined · invisible · unheard · voiceless
relics
Preserved items from antiquity
scraps · leavings · fragments · debris · dregs · remains · artifacts · ruins · heirlooms · mementos
forsaken
Completely abandoned or discarded
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- strandedLeft without means to leave
- maroonedLeft stranded and helpless
jilted · discarded · castoff · rejected · disowned · shunned · orphaned · ditched · dumped · neglected
misplaced
Put in wrong location
separated · displaced · adrift · astray · vanished · gone · disappeared · wandered · straggler · mislaid
overlooked
Not noticed or considered
- neglectedNot given proper attention
- ignoredPurposely not noticed
- disregardedNot given consideration
unnoticed · forgotten · underserved · disenfranchised · excluded · sidelined · invisible · unheard · voiceless · dispossessed
left-behindschosen ones
Selected for special purpose
selectees · keepers · must-haves · essentials · favorites
left-behindswinners
Those who prevail
beneficiaries · upwardly mobile · success stories · elites · achievers
left, behind, leaves, leaving, leaver, leavers, leftover, leftovers, leftward