两者均可用作指合同的“撤销”，尤其是在土地买卖合同 中。区别在于abandonment仅指合同一方接受另一方当事人所造 成的不予履行合同之情况（merely the acceptance by one party of the situation that a nonperformance party has caused)，另一方所导 致的违约后果并不严重。而rescission则指合同一方当事人在有充足理由，如因另一方严重违约（material breach)而终止或解除所有合同责任和义务[1];它是无过错当事人（non-breaching party)最常寻求的一种衡平法上的救济（equitable judicial remedy) 和保护方法，其可使得双方当事人回复到合同之前的状况(restore the parties to their pre-contractual positions)[2] 。
[1 ] “In the context of contracts for the sale of land, as if it were synonymous with rescission , but the two should be distinguished. An abandonment is merely the acceptance by one party of the situation that a nonperformance party has caused. But a rescission due to a material breach by the other party is a termination or discharge of the contract for all purposes. "Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition, at p. 2, West Group (1999).    

[2] “A rescission amounts to the unmaking of a contract, or an undoing of it from the beginning，and not merely a termination，and it may be effected by mutual agreement of parties ,or by one of the parties declaring rescission of contract without consent of other if a legally sufficient ground therefore exists, or by applying to courts for a decree of rescission. ” Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 905， West Publishing Co. (1991).