abate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish: to abate one's enthusiasm.
to abate a tax;
to abate one's enthusiasm.
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Law.
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to put an end to or suppress (a nuisance).
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to suspend or extinguish (an action).
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to annul (a writ).
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to deduct or subtract.
to abate part of the cost.
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to omit.
to abate all mention of names.
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to remove, as in stone carving, or hammer down, as in metalwork, (a portion of a surface) in order to produce a figure or pattern in low relief.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become less in amount, intensity, degree, etc
the storm has abated
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(tr) law
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to remove, suppress, or terminate (a nuisance)
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to suspend or extinguish (a claim or action)
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to annul (a writ)
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(intr) law (of a writ, legal action, etc) to become null and void
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(tr) to subtract or deduct, as part of a price
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has abatedperfect 3rd person singular
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have abatedperfect
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has been abatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been abatingperfect progressive
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is abatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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abatingparticiple
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abatessingular 3rd person
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are abatingprogressive
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am abatingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had abatedperfect
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had been abatingperfect progressive
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were abatingprogressive plural
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was abatingprogressive singular
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abatedsimple
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abatedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of abate
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Middle French abatre “to beat down,” equivalent to a- a- 5 + batre, from Late Latin batere for Latin battuere “to beat”; a- perhaps also understood as a- 3
Explanation
Something that abates becomes fewer or less intense. Your enthusiasm for skiing might abate after falling off a ski lift and getting a mouthful of snow. Abate comes from the Old French verb abattre, "to beat down," and means to reduce or become less intense or numerous. As an intransitive verb, it is often used with something physically, emotionally, or figuratively violent, as in "the flood of fan mail began to abate." Using it transitively, if you take measures to abate pollution or noise, you reduce them. Pronounce abate with the stress on the second syllable (uh-BATE).
Vocabulary lists containing abate
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List 1
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Hatchet
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A group called A Brotherhood Aiming Toward Education, or ABATE, visited the Capitol on Tuesday and urged its members to talk to their individual legislators.
From Washington Times • Feb. 24, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
