abate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
abates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
abated,
past participle, past
-
abating
present participle
-
to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish: to abate one's enthusiasm.
to abate a tax;
to abate one's enthusiasm.
-
Law.
-
to put an end to or suppress (a nuisance).
-
to suspend or extinguish (an action).
-
to annul (a writ).
-
-
to deduct or subtract.
to abate part of the cost.
-
to omit.
to abate all mention of names.
-
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)
-
abates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
abated,
past participle, past
-
abating
present participle
verb
-
to make or become less in amount, intensity, degree, etc
the storm has abated
-
(tr) law
-
to remove, suppress, or terminate (a nuisance)
-
to suspend or extinguish (a claim or action)
-
to annul (a writ)
-
-
(intr) law (of a writ, legal action, etc) to become null and void
-
(tr) to subtract or deduct, as part of a price
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
abatesimple
-
abatessimple
-
have abatedperfect
-
has abatedperfect
-
am abatingprogressive
-
are abatingprogressive
-
is abatingprogressive
-
have been abatingperfect progressive
-
has been abatingperfect progressive
Past
-
abatedsimple
-
had abatedperfect
-
was abatingprogressive
-
were abatingprogressive
-
had been abatingperfect progressive
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
100 Top "SAT" Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Hatchet
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
With geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty unlikely to abate soon, SGX’s positioning as a multiasset risk-management platform is a critical differentiator.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial Corp., thinks Warsh could start to lay out the case for a resumption of interest-rate cuts once inflation pressures have begun to abate.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 14, 2026
“The tightness in the jet fuel market is not likely to abate any time soon,” Shaw said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
The worst headwinds could abate this year even if earnings are soft, one analyst says.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
“I pray this grief of yours will soon abate and that you will return to your usual self.”
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
“This year, investors have been more sensitive to Shopify’s cost management and margin dilution, and we believe today’s print largely abates those concerns, and establishes an upward trajectory for FCF margins going forward,” Shao wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Under the current policy, the city abates 90 percent of property taxes on conversions that set aside at least 25 percent of units as affordable housing.
From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026
As the drama reaches catharsis, the rain abates and the skies clear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Then, in the depths of a recession, debts are settled, panic abates, green shoots appear, and banks begin lending more easily again — fueling a recovery that enables a new upswing.
From New York Times ● Apr. 11, 2024
The wind abates, the sun comes out, the trail across is flat—frozen seawater—and the dogs are well rested.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
While attacks at the Strait of Hormuz have abated for now, those at the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on the Red Sea have turned deadly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The frenzied scenes around this clammy building eventually abated, only for Faye Rogers to spark more bedlam with a rampant gold in the 200m individual medley SM10.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
“We were rightly skeptical about this so-called Sell America trade. As tariff concerns eased and recession fears abated, the debasement narrative lost momentum,” Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, said in commentary shared with MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 28, 2026
“As tariff concerns eased and recession fears abated, the debasement narrative lost momentum,” he added.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Key teammates rallied around him, and in time, the harassment abated.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
And so-called core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose by 0.2% in July from the previous month, a relatively modest increase offering hope that broader price pressures could be abating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Amid concerns over how officials are pursuing suspects, broader worries about wildfires are far from abating.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Merck, which already lifted its full-year outlook alongside first-quarter results, said this reflected abating foreign-exchange headwinds and expectations of stronger demand in the life-science and electronics markets, together with resilience in its healthcare operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
But one of the most recent — the energy shock driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict in the Middle East — is hopefully showing signs of abating.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
The movement continued to surge with no signs of abating.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
