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PlainSpell

abate

/əˈbeɪt/verb

abate is spelled A-B-A-T-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, abate means “To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in abate?

Letters5: A-B-A-T-E
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is abate?

Abate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce abate?

  • US /əˈbeɪt/
  • /əˈbeət/

Abate has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-abate.oga, En-ca-abate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with abate?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as abate from its last stressed vowel (/eɪt/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of abate

  • abates present, singular, he/she/it
  • abating participle, present
  • abated participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • abbate
  • more abate comparative
  • most abate superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does abate mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate.

  2. 2

    To reduce (something) in amount or size.

  3. 3

    To cut away or hammer down (material from metalwork, a sculpture, etc.) in such a way as to leave a figure in relief.

  4. 4

    To lower (something) in price or value.

  5. 5

    archaicTo demolish or level to the ground (a building or other structure).

  6. 6

    archaicTo give no consideration to (something); to treat as an exception.

  7. 7

    archaicTo dull (an edge, point, etc.); to blunt.

  8. 8

    To make (a writ or other legal document) void; to nullify.

    to abate a writ

  9. 9

    obsoleteTo enter upon and unlawfully seize (land) after the owner has died, thus preventing an heir from taking possession of it.

noun

  1. 1

    obsoleteAbatement; reduction; (countable) an instance of this.

  2. 2

    obsoleteDeduction; subtraction; (countable) an instance of this.

  3. 3

    obsoleteAn Italian abbot or other member of the clergy.

adjective

  1. 1

    obsoleteIn the habit of.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Abate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchamoindrir, diminuer, descendre, réduire, ralentir (to lessen (something) in force or intensity –…), rabattre (to reduce (something) in amount or size)
Germannachlassen, sich legen, schwächen, abschwächen, vermindern, verringern (to lessen (something) in force or intensity –…)
Portuguesediminuir, descer, declinar (to lessen (something) in force or intensity –…), cessar (demolish or level to the ground (a building or…), barrar, excluir (to give no consideration to (something); to…)
Spanishreducir (to lessen (something) in force or intensity –…), abatir, humillar ((obsolete) to bring down (someone) mentally or…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does abate come from?

From Middle English abaten, from Anglo-Norman abatre, from Late Latin abbattere, from Latin battere.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after abate