abeyant
Americanadjective
Usage
What does abeyant mean? Abeyant describes something that is temporarily stopped or inactive. Something that is abeyant is suspended with the possibility of continuing later. A car at a red light or a film that is on pause could be described as abeyant. However, the term is mostly used figuratively or in specialized cases. An abeyant disease, for example, is one that has been temporarily dormant or inactive. An abeyant service is one that is temporarily unavailable. In the law, when someone dies without specifying who will be the executor of their estate or who will inherit any property, that estate or property is said to be abeyant. In other words, it is without ownership until someone is identified as the next owner or executor. A proceeding, decision, or any other aspect of the court of law can also be held abeyant for several reasons. For example, a case can be held abeyant if the parties wish to come to a temporary settlement but have the option to go back to court later. Example: After Rini’s passing, the abeyant properties she owned were rented out by her family, which may bring legal trouble.
Etymology
Origin of abeyant
First recorded in 1865–70; abey(ance) + -ant
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.
Touring the pits with Ahlum was like visiting the abeyant ghosts of my childhood.
From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2019
We stood, abeyant, ready to receive what shock fate should administer.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
"What do you think of it, Mrs. Stager?" she called to the woman standing respectfully abeyant at one side.
From Fennel and Rue by Howells, William Dean
Hertford returned two burgesses to the parliament of 1298, and to others until, after 1375/6, such right became abeyant, to be restored by order of parliament in 1623/4.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various
Peerages of Ireland, extinct and abeyant, alphabetically, according to Titles.
From Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George the Third From the Original Family Documents, Volume 2 by Buckingham and Chandos, Richard Plantagenet Temple Nugent Brydges Chandos Grenville, Duke of
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.
