abet
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has abettedperfect 3rd person singular
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have abettedperfect
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am abettingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been abettingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been abettingperfect progressive
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is abettingprogressive 3rd person singular
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abetssingular 3rd person
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are abettingprogressive
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abettingparticiple
Past
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had abettedperfect
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was abettingprogressive singular
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were abettingprogressive plural
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had been abettingperfect progressive
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abettedparticiple
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abettedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of abet
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English abette (source of Old French abeter, unless the latter, of Germanic origin, is the source of the Middle English), unattested Old English ābǣtan “to hound on,” equivalent to ā- a- 3 + bǣtan “to hunt, chase with dogs, pasture”; see origin at bait; akin to bite
Explanation
To abet is to help someone do something, usually something wrong. If you were the lookout while your older sister swiped cookies from the cookie jar, you abetted her mischief. The verb abet can be used to generally mean encouragement, but people usually expect to see it in relation to some crime. "The singer was abetted by a pianist in her rendition of Silver Bells," for example, is a harmless construction. However, people more often expect abet in a sentence like this: "She was charged with aiding and abetting the burglar because she drove the getaway car." Abet comes from an Old French word abeter meaning "to bait."
Vocabulary lists containing abet
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Antigone
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Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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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.
Abet, incite, instigate: which of these words are used in a good and which in a bad sense?
From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin
Abet and instigate are now used almost without exception in a bad sense; one may incite either to good or evil.
From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin
Abet and instigate apply either to persons or actions, incite to persons only; one incites a person to an action.
From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin
Mr. Abet is one of three brothers; they were from Syria, and eventually settled p. 188in Egypt.
From The Thistle and the Cedar of Lebanon by Risk Allah, Habeeb
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.
