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abate

Pronunciation: /əˈbeɪt/

Translate abate | into German | into Italian | into Spanish

Definition of abate

verb

[no object]

(of something unpleasant or severe) become less intense or widespread:the storm suddenly abated
[with object] make (something) less intense:nothing abated his crusading zeal
[with object] Law reduce or remove (a nuisance): this action would not have been sufficient to abate the odour nuisance

Origin:

Middle English (in the legal sense): from Old French abatre 'to fell', from a- (from Latin ad 'to, at') + batre 'to beat' (from Latin battere, battuere 'to beat')