a•bate
Pronunciation: (u-bāt'), [key]
— v., a•bat•ed, a•bat•ing.
—v.t.
- to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish: to abate a tax; to abate one's enthusiasm.
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- to put an end to or suppress (a nuisance).
- to suspend or extinguish (an action).
- to annul (a writ).
- to deduct or subtract: to abate part of the cost.
- to omit: to abate all mention of names.
- 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.
—v.i.
- to diminish in intensity, violence, amount, etc.: The storm has abated. The pain in his shoulder finally abated.
- to end; become null and void.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.