abeyance

[ uh-bey-uhns ]

/ əˈbeɪ əns /

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noun

temporary inactivity, cessation, or suspension: Let's hold that problem in abeyance for a while.

Law. a state or condition of real property in which title is not as yet vested in a known titleholder: an estate in abeyance.

OTHER WORDS FOR abeyance

1 remission, deferral.

See synonyms for abeyance on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of abeyance

1520–30; <Anglo-French; Old French abeance aspiration, literally, a gaping at or toward. See a-⁵, bay², -ance

Words nearby abeyance

abessive, abet, abetalipoproteinemia, abettor, ab extra, abeyance, abeyant, abfarad, A.B.F.M., ABFP, ABG

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use abeyance in a sentence

Not a single one of his fellow conservatives joined his call to hold what he called a “not only unusual, but unprecedented,” law in abeyance until lower courts and the justices could examine it more closely.
Abortion rights backers: Supreme Court’s Texas ruling shows Roe v. Wade is in danger|Robert Barnes|September 2, 2021|Washington Post
It’s unclear when lenders will end the abeyance awarded all of those delinquent mortgages.
Housing flips the recession script: Prices will keep rising for up to a year, but here’s how the party will end|Shawn Tully|October 4, 2020|Fortune
The court will then hold the eleven felony allocutions in abeyance.
Inside the ‘PayPal 14’ Trial|Alexa O'Brien|December 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Or were they merely orthodox through a more uneven balancing of their qualities, the animal in abeyance?
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

My own direct correspondence with Mr. Baxter is now about three months in abeyance.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 25 (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
Fettes, with various liquors singing in his head, returned home with devious footsteps and a mind entirely in abeyance.
Tales and Fantasies|Robert Louis Stevenson
Dashwood retired with Bute and the barony of Despencer was called out of abeyance in his favour.
The Political History of England - Vol. X.|William Hunt
Still, public feeling was so strong that by the middle of the century the laws had almost fallen into abeyance.
Is Ulster Right?|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for abeyance

abeyance

/ (əˈbeɪəns) /

noun

(usually preceded by in or into) a state of being suspended or put aside temporarily

(usually preceded by in) law an indeterminate state of ownership, as when the person entitled to an estate has not been ascertained

Derived forms of abeyance

abeyant, adjective

Word Origin for abeyance

C16-17: from Anglo-French, from Old French abeance expectation, literally a gaping after, a reaching towards

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

abeyance

OTHER WORDS FOR abeyance

Origin of abeyance

Words nearby abeyance

Words related to abeyance

How to use abeyance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for abeyance

Derived forms of abeyance

Word Origin for abeyance