abate
/əˈbeɪt/
"abate" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“abate” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #42,506. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #42,506
- frequency rank, English
- 3,931
- “A” headwords
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate.
Corpus desk
Index EN-abate · abate · English
abate · rank #42,506 · 6 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-MID #42,506
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-MID 6 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,931
- PHOTO-FINISH abra
Nearest frequency peer: abra (+1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Rank peers near misspelling magnet “abate”
Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword
- Zhen
Zhen
57,499 corpus weight
- abate
abate
57,495 corpus weight
- abra
abra
57,494 corpus weight
- accesses
accesses
57,493 corpus weight
- adenosine
adenosine
57,492 corpus weight
- adjuster
adjuster
57,490 corpus weight
What this shows “abate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | abate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /əˈbeɪt/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #42,506 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abate”
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 6 spelling variants around abate (IPA /əˈbeɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #42,506 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 24 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for abate, with forms such as "aabte", "abaet", and "abatte". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ate", "Abe", "able", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English abaten, from Anglo-Norman abatre, from Late Latin abbattere, from Latin battere. detailed etymology, sense derivation, and cognates The verb is derived from Middle English abaten (“to demolish, knock down; to defeat, strike down; to stri… The correct English form is abate, spelled A-B-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To lessen (something) in force or intensity; to moderate.
- 2To reduce (something) in amount or size.
- 3To reduce (something) in amount or size.
- 4To lower (something) in price or value.
- 5To demolish or level to the ground (a building or other structure).
- 6To give no consideration to (something); to treat as an exception.
- 7To dull (an edge, point, etc.); to blunt.
- 8To make (a writ or other legal document) void; to nullify.
- 9To put an end to (a nuisance).
- 10To dismiss or otherwise bring to an end (legal proceedings) before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits.
- 11To curtail or end (something); to cause to cease.
- 12To give (someone) a discount or rebate; also, to relieve (someone) of a debt.
- 13To bring down (someone) mentally or physically; to lower (someone) in status.
- 14Chiefly followed by from, of, etc.: to omit or remove (a part from a whole); to deduct, to subtract.
- 15Chiefly followed by of: to deprive (someone or something of another thing).
- 16To decrease in force or intensity; to subside.
- 17To decrease in amount or size.
- 18To lower in price or value; (law) specifically, of a bequest in a will: to lower in value because the testator's estate is insufficient to satisfy all the bequests in full.
- 19Of an edge, point, etc.: to become blunt or dull.
- 20Of a writ or other legal document: to become null and void; to cease to have effect.
- 21Of legal proceedings: to be dismissed or otherwise brought to an end before they are completed, especially on procedural grounds rather than on the merits.
- 22To give a discount or rebate; to discount, to rebate.
- 23To bow down; hence, to be abased or humbled.
- 24Chiefly followed by of: to deduct or subtract from.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how abate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[Jupiter] whiche by his goodnes as Marcianus ſaieth, abateth the malice of Saturne. Therfore the Poets faine, that he did put his father out of his kingdome, Iſidore writeth as he abateth the malice of the euill Planets, […]
Abate thy rage ſweete knight, Abate thy rage.
Etymology
From Middle English abaten, from Anglo-Norman abatre, from Late Latin abbattere, from Latin battere. detailed etymology, sense derivation, and cognates The verb is derived from Middle English abaten (“to demolish, knock down; to defeat, strike down; to strike or take down (a sail); to throw down; to bow dejectedly or submissively; to be dejected; to stop; to defeat, humiliate; to repeal (a law); to dismiss or quash (a lawsuit); to lessen, reduce; to injure, impair; to appease; to decline, grow less; to deduct, subtract; to make one’s way; attack (an enemy); (law) to enter or intrude upon (someone’s property); of a hawk: to beat or flap the wings”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman abater, abatier, abatre, abbatre, Middle French abattre, abatre, abattre, Old French abatre, abattre (“to demolish, knock down; to bring down, cut down; to lessen, reduce; to suppress; to stop; to discourage; to impoverish, ruin; to conquer; to overthrow; to kill; to remove (money) from circulation; (law) to annul”), from Late Latin abbattere (“to bring down, take down; to suppress; to debase (currency)”), from Latin ab- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’) + Latin battere, from older battuere (“to beat, hit; to beat up; to fight”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to dig; to stab”)). The noun is derived from the verb.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- aabte
- abaet
- abatte
- abbate
- abtae
- baate
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abate", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).