Abate means to become less intense or widespread; to reduce in degree or amount. It describes things like storms weakening, emotions diminishing, or pressures easing. Used in formal, literary, and policy contexts, it implies a measurable subsiding rather than a sudden end, often with emphasis on gradual decrease over time.
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"The storm began to abate after several hours of heavy rainfall."
"Public anger showed signs of abating as officials issued clarifications."
"Efforts to abate pollution have reduced emissions in the past decade."
"The crowd’s din slowly abated, allowing the speaker to continue."
Abate originates from the Old French abattre, meaning to beat down, strike down, or lay low, from the Latin ad-battere or ab- + battare meaning to strike. In Middle English, abaten evolved to signify reducing or diminishing in various senses. By the 14th century, it appears in legal, religious, and general prose to denote a subsiding storm, a diminishing amount, or the tempering of effects. The root batt- or bat- is connected to striking or beating, with the prefix a- intensifying or signaling separation in some uses. The term traveled through Norman influence into English, retaining its core sense of reduction or removal of intensity. Over time, abate broadened beyond physical beating to abstract reductions (costs, sanctions, fears). In modern usage, abate is common in legal and administrative language (abatement of nuisance or taxes) as well as meteorological and colloquial contexts, often collocating with nouns denoting force or measure (abate the wind, abate the pain). The first known usage appears in 13th- or 14th-century English texts, with scholarly reconstructions noting its formal register in later legal and policy documents. Modern dictionaries document its versatility across tense forms and figurative uses, preserving the core notion of subsidence or reduction.
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Words that rhyme with "abate"
-ate sounds
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Pronounce it as ə-BATE, with primary stress on the second syllable. In IPA for US/UK/AU, it is /əˈbeɪt/. The first syllable is a quick schwa, the second carries a long A sound /eɪ/. Place your tongue mid-high, lips relaxed, jaw slightly dropped on the /eɪ/ diphthong. You’ll hear a crisp, even release at the end. Listen for the syllable break and avoid a stale, flat vowel in the first syllable.
Two common errors: (1) Misplacing the stress as a-BATE rather than ə-BATE; ensure the accent is clearly on the second syllable. (2) Shortening the /eɪ/ diphthong to /ɛ/ or /e/, producing /əˈbɛt/; keep the long vowel glide from /eɪ/ to a clear final /t/. To correct, practice a quick schwa then a strong, elongated /eɪ/ before the final /t/.
Across US/UK/AU, the pronunciation is broadly /əˈbeɪt/. In non-rhotic UK accents, the final /t/ remains, with the preceding vowel slightly lengthened; in some US dialects, the /ə/ can be reduced more, yielding a weaker initial syllable; Australian speakers often maintain a clear schwa but can pronunciation simplify the /ɪ/ of nearby words, still preserving /eɪ/. Overall, the main variation is in the quality of the initial unstressed syllable and the consonant release, not the main diphthong.
The challenge lies in the pronunciation of the second syllable’s /eɪ/ diphthong and the final /t/ release after a silent-ish first syllable. The subtle tilt from /ə/ to /beɪ/ requires precise tongue advancement; the /b/ needs a light, clean stop. Beginners often misplace the stress or blend the vowel into a shorter /e/ sound. Focus on a distinct schwa, then a strong /eɪ/ glide, and a crisp /t/ to avoid an unintended /d/ or /ɾ/ sound.
Yes. The rhythm is 1-2 with a strong secondary beat on the second syllable; you should give the second syllable a strong, even duration to convey subsidence. The pause between the first and second syllable should be minimal, but ensure you don’t let the /ə/ collapse into a syllabic vowel. Practicing with a metronome helps you land the stress cleanly and keep the overall tempo steady.
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