absorbed

[ab-sawrbd, -zawrbd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR absorbed ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

deeply interested or involved; preoccupied: He had an absorbed look on his face.

Origin of absorbed

First recorded in 1755–65; absorb + -ed²

Related formsab·sorb·ed·ly

[ab-sawr-bid-lee, -zawr-] /æbˈsɔr bɪd li, -ˈzɔr-/, adverbab·sorb·ed·ness, nounun·ab·sorbed, adjectivewell-ab·sorbed, adjective

absorb

[ab-sawrb, -zawrb]

verb (used with object)

to suck up or drink in (a liquid); soak up: A sponge absorbs water.

to swallow up the identity or individuality of; incorporate: The empire absorbed many small nations.

to involve the full attention of; to engross or engage wholly: so absorbed in a book that he did not hear the bell.

to occupy or fill: This job absorbs all of my time.

to take up or receive by chemical or molecular action: Carbonic acid is formed when water absorbs carbon dioxide.

to take in without echo, recoil, or reflection: to absorb sound and light; to absorb shock.

to take in and utilize: The market absorbed all the computers we could build. Can your brain absorb all this information?

to pay for (costs, taxes, etc.): The company will absorb all the research costs.

Archaic. to swallow up.

Origin of absorb

1480–90; < Latin absorbēre, equivalent to ab- ab- + sorbēre to suck in, swallow

Related formsab·sorb·a·ble, adjectiveab·sorb·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ab·sorb·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·ab·sorb·a·ble, adjectiveo·ver·ab·sorb, verb (used with object)pre·ab·sorb, verbre·ab·sorb, verb (used with object)un·ab·sorb·a·ble, adjective

Can be confusedabsorb adsorb

Synonyms for absorb

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR absorb ON THESAURUS.COM

2. assimilate, consume, devour, engulf; destroy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for absorbed

preoccupied, involved, engaged, engrossed, fascinated, gone, immersed, fixed, lost, held, intent, rapt

Examples from the Web for absorbed

Contemporary Examples of absorbed

As digesting food passes through the small intestine, it mixes with chemicals from the liver, and nutrients are absorbed.
‘Rectal Feeding’ Has Nothing to Do with Nutrition, Everything to Do with Torture
Russell Saunders
December 10, 2014
In the book, you say “Absorb youth and you will be absorbed by youth.”
George Clinton on Industry ‘Mobsters’ and How Nobody Wants to Listen to a Crackhead
Curtis Stephen
November 19, 2014
“It is important to know that gluten is not absorbed through the skin,” she wrote in response to my questions.
Celiac or Not, Gluten Free Dish Soap Is Ridiculous
Russell Saunders
July 16, 2014
No mayonnaise, only butter, which had been absorbed, sponge-style, into the bun.
My Big, Buttery Lobster Roll Rumble: We Came, We Clawed, We Conquered
Scott Bixby
June 7, 2014
This brilliant video takes a scientific look at the “giant prehistoric sea-monster that absorbed massive amounts of radiation.”
Godzilla, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Sam, and More Viral Videos
The Daily Beast Video
May 17, 2014

Historical Examples of absorbed

He stood in deep shadow and the girl had been too absorbed in the play to note his coming.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
He sat for some minutes in silence, and closed his eyes as if absorbed in thought.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
They absorbed her atmosphere and after each followed a period of mental asphyxy.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
They strolled together up the road past him, absorbed in themselves.
In the Midst of Alarms
Robert Barr
She was so absorbed in her intense enjoyment that she forgot all about the old Colonel.
The Little Colonel
Annie Fellows Johnston

British Dictionary definitions for absorbed

absorbed

adjective

engrossed; deeply interested

Derived Formsabsorbedly (əbˈsɔːbɪdlɪ, -ˈzɔː-), adverb

absorb

verb (tr)

to soak or suck up (liquids)

to engage or occupy (the interest, attention, or time) of (someone); engross

to receive or take in (the energy of an impact)

physics to take in (all or part of incident radiated energy) and retain the part that is not reflected or transmitted

to take in or assimilate; incorporate

to accept and find a market for (goods, etc)

to pay for as part of a commercial transactionthe distributor absorbed the cost of transport

chem to cause to undergo a process in which one substance, usually a liquid or gas, permeates into or is dissolved by a liquid or solidporous solids absorb water; hydrochloric acid absorbs carbon dioxide Compare adsorb

Derived Formsabsorbability, nounabsorbable, adjective

Word Origin for absorb

C15: via Old French from Latin absorbēre to suck, swallow, from ab- 1 + sorbēre to suck

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

Word Origin and History for absorbed

absorb

early 15c., from Middle French absorber (Old French assorbir, 13c.), from Latin absorbere "to swallow up," from ab- "from" (see ab-) + sorbere "suck in," from PIE root *srebh- "to suck, absorb" (cf. Armenian arbi "I drank," Greek rhopheo "to sup greedily up, gulp down," Lithuanian srebiu "to drink greedily"). Figurative meaning "to completely grip (one's) attention" is from 1763. Related: Absorbed; absorbing.

absorbed in Medicine

absorb

[əb-zôrb′]

v.

To take in by absorption.

To reduce the intensity of transmitted light.