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
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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
- abatable adjective
- abater noun
- unabatable adjective
- unabating adjective
- unabatingly adverb
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
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.
“We also expect a renewal of demand for gold from investors and central banks, as the preference for liquidity stemming from the Middle East crisis abates.”
From Barron's
And the pressure in the pipeline isn’t about to abate.
From Barron's
A rout in government bonds was showing no signs of abating.
Bessent, as part of efforts to abate market turmoil, has temporarily lifted US sanctions on Iranian and Russian oil that had already been loaded onto ships.
From Barron's
His son succeeded him, and the war shows no sign of abating despite reports that Iran’s military command structure was destroyed.
From Barron's
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.
