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verb Abate v. t. (past & past part. abated, pres. part. abating) 1.To beat down; to overthrow. (Obs.) "The King of Scots... sore abated the walls." 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." 3.To deduct; to omit; as, to abate something from a price. "Nine thousand parishes, abating the odd hundreds." 4.To blunt. (Obs.) "To abate the edge of envy." 5.To reduce in estimation; to deprive. (Obs.) "She hath abated me of half my train." 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 v. i. 1.To decrease, or become less in strength or violence; as, pain abates, a storm abates. "The fury of Glengarry... rapidly abated." 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. Synonyms: To subside; decrease; intermit; decline; diminish; lessen. 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.
noun Abate n. Abatement. (Obs.)
Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48
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