I. əˈbāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English abaten, from Old French abatre, abattre to knock down, fell, slaughter, from a- (from Latin ad- ) + batre, battre to beat, from Latin battuere — more at bat
transitive verb
1. law
a. : to bring entirely down : demolish : put an end to : do away with
abate a nuisance
abate an action
b. : nullify : make void
abate a writ
2. obsolete : to lower in status : humble
3.
a. : to reduce or lessen in degree or intensity : diminish , moderate
may … abate their zeal and give up their hopes of world conquest — Elmer Davis
b. : to reduce in value
abate a tax
the legacies were abated pro rata to pay debts
4. : deduct , omit
abate part of a price
5. : to beat down, cut away, or otherwise lower, so as to leave a figure in relief (as in metalwork or stonecutting)
6. : deprive
she hath abated me of half my train — Shakespeare
7. obsolete : to turn or dull the edge or point of : blunt
abates my sword's keen edge — Thomas Heywood
intransitive verb
1. : to decrease in force, intensity, or violence : lessen , subside
wait for a storm to abate
the fear of immediate war has measurably abated
2.
a. : to become defeated or become null or void (as of a writ or appeal)
b. : to decrease in amount or value
the legacies abated proportionately
Synonyms: see abolish , decrease
II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Anglo-French abatre, alteration of enbatre, from Old French en- + batre to beat
law : to enter without right upon a tenement after the death of the last possessor and before the heir or devisee takes possession