What does "abate" mean?
Abatement; reduction; (countable) an instance of this.
Abate
/əˈbeɪt/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Abatement; reduction; (countable) an instance of this.
- Grammar: abate is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ablate, abolish, abolish, abrade.
- Useful contrasts: cresting, deepening, escalating.
- Usage evidence: The storm didn't abate for several hours.
How to use "abate"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "abate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
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- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "abate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "abate" as the right word for your sentence.
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "abate" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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3. Confirm with context
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Final meaning check
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 Abatement; reduction; (countable) an instance of this. obsolete, uncountable
"[Letter to Algernon Sidney dated 13 October 1681 (Julian calendar).] There are many things make a man's life uneasy in the world, which are great abates to the pleasure of living, but scarcely one equal to that of the unkindness or injustice of friends."
- 2 An Italian abbot or other member of the clergy. obsolete
- 3 Deduction; subtraction; (countable) an instance of this. obsolete, uncountable
"That men weigh heavier dead than alive, if experiment hath not failed us, we cannot reaſonably grant. For though the triall hereof cannot ſo well be made on the body of Man, nor will the difference be ſenſible in the abate of ſcruples or dragmes, yet can we not confirm the ſame in leſſer animalls from whence the inference is good; […]"
Verb
- 1 To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate. transitive
"[Jupiter] whiche by his goodnes as Marcianus ſaieth, abateth the malice of Saturne. Therfore the Poets faine, that he did put his father out of his kingdome, Iſidore writeth as he abateth the malice of the euill Planets, […]"
- 2 To enter upon and unlawfully seize (land) after the owner has died, thus preventing an heir from taking possession of it. ambitransitive, historical, obsolete
"So, if Lands be given to Father and Son, and to the heirs of their two bodies begotten, the remainder over in fee, and afterwards the Father dieth without any Iſſue but the Son, and afterwards the Son dieth without Iſſue, and a Stranger abateth, he in the remainder ſhall have one Formedon in the remainder, although the Eſtate tails were ſeveral, […]"
- 3 become less in amount or intensity wordnet
- 4 To reduce (something) in amount or size. transitive
"Thou haſt dominion ouer their power, and when they be exalted & ſet aloft in their waies, thou abateſt their courage, and deſtroyeſt them with thy mighty arme."
- 5 make less active or intense wordnet
Show 22 more definitions
- 6 To reduce (something) in amount or size.; To cut away or hammer down (material from metalwork, a sculpture, etc.) in such a way as to leave a figure in relief. transitive
- 7 To lower (something) in price or value. transitive
"Few words drive a bargain with Peter Eskett. I never abate one farthing of my price; but then that price never asks more than a fair profit."
- 8 To demolish or level to the ground (a building or other structure). archaic, transitive
"[…] the kyng of Scottes […] with all hys hoſte and power entered into Englande (and threw doune pyles) the .xxij. daye of August, and planted hys ſiege before the Caſtell of Norham, and ſore abated the walles."
- 9 To give no consideration to (something); to treat as an exception. archaic, transitive
"Abate throw at Nouum, and the whole world againe, Cannot picke out fiue ſuch, take each one in his vaine."
- 10 To dull (an edge, point, etc.); to blunt. archaic, figuratively, transitive
"Abate the edge of traitors gracious Lord, That vvould reduce theſe bloudy daies againe, And make poore England vveepe in ſtreames of bloud, […]"
- 11 To make (a writ or other legal document) void; to nullify. transitive
"to abate a writ"
- 12 To put an end to (a nuisance). transitive
"She was ordered by the court to abate the nuisance."
- 13 To dismiss or otherwise bring to an end (legal proceedings) before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits. US, transitive
- 14 To curtail or end (something); to cause to cease. obsolete, transitive
"to order restrictions to abate an emergency"
- 15 To give (someone) a discount or rebate; also, to relieve (someone) of a debt. obsolete, transitive
"[…] when I talk'd of a lodging I had heard of, nearer my business, for two shillings a week, which, intent as I now was on saving money, made some difference, she bid me not think of it, for she would abate me two shillings a week for the future; so I remained with her at one shilling and sixpence as long as I staid in London."
- 16 To bring down (someone) mentally or physically; to lower (someone) in status. obsolete, transitive
"He is honoured amonge theym that be honoured, that fortune abateth without faute: and he is shamed amonge theym that be shamed, that fortune inhanceth without merite."
- 17 Chiefly followed by from, of, etc.: to omit or remove (a part from a whole); to deduct, to subtract. obsolete, transitive
"We will abate this price from the total."
- 18 Chiefly followed by of: to deprive (someone or something of another thing). obsolete, transitive
"She hath abated me of halfe my traine, Lookt blacke vpon me, ſtrooke mee with her tongue Moſt Serpent-like vpon the very heart, […]"
- 19 To decrease in force or intensity; to subside. intransitive
"[…] Plini writeth, that the crueltie of the Ramme abateth, if he bee perced in the horne neare vnto the eare. For the chiefeſt parte of his ſtrength, is in his hedd, where he is well armed to fighte."
- 20 To decrease in amount or size. intransitive
"And the waters returned from aboue the earth, going and returning: and after the end of the hundreth and fiftieth day the waters abated."
- 21 To lower in price or value; (law) specifically, of a bequest in a will: to lower in value because the testator's estate is insufficient to satisfy all the bequests in full. intransitive
"Bequests and legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets."
- 22 Of an edge, point, etc.: to become blunt or dull. archaic, figuratively, intransitive
"The third ſhild yelow, ſignifying the Barriers, and he that toucheth that ſhilde ſhalbee anſwered twelve ſtrokes at the Barriers, wyth the ſworde, edge and poynt abated."
- 23 Of a writ or other legal document: to become null and void; to cease to have effect. historical, intransitive
"The writ has abated."
- 24 Of legal proceedings: to be dismissed or otherwise brought to an end before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits. US, intransitive
"[…] in actions ariſing ex contractu, by breach of promiſe and the like, where the right deſcends to the repreſentatives of the plaintiff, and thoſe of the defendant have aſſets to anſwer the demand, though the ſuits ſhall abate by the death of the parties, yet they may be revived againſt or by the executors: being indeed rather actions againſt the property than the perſon, in which the executors now have the ſame intereſt that their teſtator had before."
- 25 To give a discount or rebate; to discount, to rebate. intransitive, obsolete
- 26 To bow down; hence, to be abased or humbled. intransitive, obsolete
- 27 Chiefly followed by of: to deduct or subtract from. intransitive, obsolete
"So toilsome was the road to trace, The guide, abating of his pace, Led slowly through the pass's jaws, […]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Italian.
Antonyms
Example
"The storm didn't abate for several hours."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "abate"?
Common synonyms include: ablate, abolish, abolish, abrade, abrogate, abstract.
How do you use "abate" in a sentence?
The storm didn't abate for several hours.
How do you pronounce "abate"?
Pronounced /əˈbeɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English abaten, from Anglo-Norman abatre, from Late Latin abbattere, from Latin battere. detailed etymology, sense derivation, and cognates The verb is derived from Middle English abaten (“to demolish, knock down; to defeat, strike down; to strike or take down (a sail); to throw down; to bow dejectedly or submissively; to be dejected; to stop; to defeat, humiliate; to repeal (a law); to dismiss or quash (a lawsuit); to lessen, reduce; to injure, impair; to appease; to decline, grow less; to deduct, subtract; to make one’s way; attack (an enemy); (law) to enter or intrude upon (someone’s property); of a hawk: to beat or flap the wings”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman abater, abatier, abatre, abbatre, Middle French abattre, abatre, abattre, Old French abatre, abattre (“to demolish, knock down; to bring down, cut down; to lessen, reduce; to suppress; to stop; to discourage; to impoverish, ruin; to conquer; to overthrow; to kill; to remove (money) from circulation; (law) to annul”), from Late Latin abbattere (“to bring down, take down; to suppress; to debase (currency)”), from Latin ab- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’) + Latin battere, from older battuere (“to beat, hit; to beat up; to fight”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to dig; to stab”)). The noun is derived from the verb.
Etymology 2
From Anglo-Norman abatre, probably an alteration of Anglo-Norman and Middle French embatre, enbatre (“to drive or rush into; to enter into a tenement without permission”) (compare Late Latin abatare), from Middle French, Old French em-, en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + Middle French, Old French batre (“to beat, hit, strike”) (from Latin battere, battuere, the present active infinitive of battuō (“to beat, hit; to beat up; to fight”); see further at etymology 1). The English word was probably also influenced by the verb abate.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Italian abate (“abbot”), from Latin abbātem, the accusative singular of abbās (“abbot”), from Ancient Greek ἀββᾶς (abbâs), a variant of ἀββᾱ (abbā, “father; title of respect for an abbot”), from Aramaic אַבָּא (’abbā, “father; ancestor; teacher; chief, leader; author, originator”), from Proto-Semitic *ʔabw- (“father”), ultimately imitative of a child’s word for “father”. The English word is a doublet of abbot.
Etymology 4
Borrowed from Italian Abate.