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abate - 7 dictionary results

a⋅bate

  [uh-beyt] verb, a⋅bat⋅ed, a⋅bat⋅ing.
Use abate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish: to abate a tax; to abate one's enthusiasm.
2. Law.
a. to put an end to or suppress (a nuisance).
b. to suspend or extinguish (an action).
c. to annul (a writ).
3. to deduct or subtract: to abate part of the cost.
4. to omit: to abate all mention of names.
5. 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)
6. to diminish in intensity, violence, amount, etc.: The storm has abated. The pain in his shoulder finally abated.
7. Law. to end; become null and void.
Origin:
1300–50; ME < MF abatre to beat down, equiv. to a- a- 5 + batre < LL batere for L battuere to beat; a- perh. also understood as a- 3

Related forms:
a⋅bat⋅a⋅ble, adjective
a⋅bat⋅er; Law. a⋅ba⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. decrease, weaken. 6. subside.

Antonyms:
1, 6. increase, intensify.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To abate
a·bate   (ə-bāt')   
v.   a·bat·ed, a·bat·ing, a·bates

v.   tr.
  1. To reduce in amount, degree, or intensity; lessen. See Synonyms at decrease.
  2. To deduct from an amount; subtract.
  3. Law
    1. To put an end to.
    2. To make void.
v.   intr.
  1. To fall off in degree or intensity; subside.
  2. Law To become void.

[Middle English abaten, from Old French abattre, to beat down : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + batre, to beat; see batter1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Abate

A*bate"\ ([.a]*b[=a]t"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abated, p. pr. & vb. n. Abating.] [OF. abatre to beat down, F. abattre, LL. abatere; ab or ad + batere, battere (popular form for L. batuere to beat). Cf. Bate, Batter.]

1. To beat down; to overthrow. [Obs.]

The King of Scots . . . sore abated the walls. --Edw. Hall.

2. To bring down or reduce from a higher to a lower state, number, or degree; to lessen; to diminish; to contract; to moderate; to cut short; as, to abate a demand; to abate pride, zeal, hope.

His eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. --Deut. xxxiv. 7.

3. To deduct; to omit; as, to abate something from a price.

Nine thousand parishes, abating the odd hundreds. --Fuller.

4. To blunt. [Obs.]

To abate the edge of envy. --Bacon.

5. To reduce in estimation; to deprive. [Obs.]

She hath abated me of half my train. --Shak.

6. (Law) (a) To bring entirely down or put an end to; to do away with; as, to abate a nuisance, to abate a writ. (b) (Eng. Law) To diminish; to reduce. Legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets.

To abate a tax, to remit it either wholly or in part.

Abate

A*bate"\ ([.a]*b[=a]t"), v. i. [See Abate, v. t.]

1. To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as, pain abates, a storm abates.

The fury of Glengarry . . . rapidly abated. --Macaulay.

2. To be defeated, or come to naught; to fall through; to fail; as, a writ abates.

To abate into a freehold, To abate in lands (Law), to enter into a freehold after the death of the last possessor, and before the heir takes possession. See Abatement, 4.

Syn: To subside; decrease; intermit; decline; diminish; lessen.

Usage: To Abate, Subside. These words, as here compared, imply a coming down from some previously raised or excited state. Abate expresses this in respect to degrees, and implies a diminution of force or of intensity; as, the storm abates, the cold abates, the force of the wind abates; or, the wind abates, a fever abates. Subside (to settle down) has reference to a previous state of agitation or commotion; as, the waves subside after a storm, the wind subsides into a calm. When the words are used figuratively, the same distinction should be observed. If we conceive of a thing as having different degrees of intensity or strength, the word to be used is abate. Thus we say, a man's anger abates, the ardor of one's love abates, "Winter's rage abates". But if the image be that of a sinking down into quiet from preceding excitement or commotion, the word to be used is subside; as, the tumult of the people subsides, the public mind subsided into a calm. The same is the case with those emotions which are tumultuous in their nature; as, his passion subsides, his joy quickly subsided, his grief subsided into a pleasing melancholy. Yet if, in such cases, we were thinking of the degree of violence of the emotion, we might use abate; as, his joy will abate in the progress of time; and so in other instances.

Abate

A*bate\ ([.a]*b[=a]t"), n. Abatement. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : abate
Spanish: disminuir, amainar,
German: nachlassen,
Japanese: 和らぐ
More Translations »

abate 
c.1270, from O.Fr. abattre "beat down," from L. ad "to" + battuere "to beat" (see batter (v.)). Secondary sense of "to fell, slaughter" is in abatis and abattoir.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: abate
Pronunciation: &-'bAt
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: abat·ed; abat·ing
Etymology: Old French abattre, literally, to knock down, from a-, prefix stressing result + battre to beat
transitive verb 1 a : to put an end to or do away with <abate a nuisance> b : make void : NULLIFY <abate an action>
2 : to reduce in amount esp. proportionately <abate a tax> intransitive verb 1 : to become defeated or become null or void abate —Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 43>
2 : to decrease in amount or value abated proportionately>
NOTE: A problem arises in estate law when the amount of the bequests and devises made in a will exceeds the assets available in the estate. In such a case, some or all of the bequests and devises may have to be abated to make up the deficit. Under the Uniform Probate Code, property in the estate that is not specifically given under the will abates first, residuary devises abate second, general devises abate third, and specific devises abate last.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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