Abrenunciation Ab`re·nun`ci·a"tion noun [ Late Latin abrenuntiatio . See Abrenounce .] Absolute renunciation or repudiation. [ Obsolete]

An abrenunciation of that truth which he so long had professed, and still believed.
Fuller.

Abreption Ab·rep"tion noun [ Latin abreptus , past participle of abripere to snatch away; ab + rapere to snatch.] A snatching away. [ Obsolete]

Abreuvoir A`breu`voir" noun [ French, a watering place.] (Masonry) The joint or interstice between stones, to be filled with mortar. Gwilt.

Abricock A"bri·cock noun See Apricot . [ Obsolete]

Abridge A·bridge" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Abridged ; present participle & verbal noun Abridging .] [ Middle English abregen , Old French abregier , French abréger , from Latin abbreviare ; ad + brevis short. See Brief and confer Abbreviate .] 1. To make shorter; to shorten in duration; to lessen; to diminish; to curtail; as, to abridge labor; to abridge power or rights. "The bridegroom . . . abridged his visit." Smollett.

She retired herself to Sebaste, and abridged her train from state to necessity.
Fuller.

2. To shorten or contract by using fewer words, yet retaining the sense; to epitomize; to condense; as, to abridge a history or dictionary.

3. To deprive; to cut off; -- followed by of , and formerly by from ; as, to abridge one of his rights.

Abridger A·bridg"er noun One who abridges.

Abridgment A·bridg"ment (-brĭj"m e nt) noun [ Middle English abregement . See Abridge .] 1. The act of abridging, or the state of being abridged; diminution; lessening; reduction or deprivation; as, an abridgment of pleasures or of expenses.

2. An epitome or compend, as of a book; a shortened or abridged form; an abbreviation.

Ancient coins as abridgments of history.
Addison.

3. That which abridges or cuts short; hence, an entertainment that makes the time pass quickly. [ Obsolete]

What abridgment have you for this evening? What mask? What music?
Shak.

Syn. -- Abridgment , Compendium , Epitome , Abstract , Synopsis . An abridgment is made by omitting the less important parts of some larger work; as, an abridgment of a dictionary. A compendium is a brief exhibition of a subject, or science, for common use; as, a compendium of American literature. An epitome corresponds to a compendium , and gives briefly the most material points of a subject; as, an epitome of history. An abstract is a brief statement of a thing in its main points. A synopsis is a bird's-eye view of a subject, or work, in its several parts.

Abroach A·broach" transitive verb [ Middle English abrochen , Old French abrochier . See Broach .] To set abroach; to let out, as liquor; to broach; to tap. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Abroach A·broach" adverb [ Prefix a- + broach .] 1. Broached; in a condition for letting out or yielding liquor, as a cask which is tapped.

Hogsheads of ale were set abroach .
Sir W. Scott.

2. Hence: In a state to be diffused or propagated; afoot; astir. "Mischiefs that I set abroach ." Shak.

Abroad A·broad" adverb [ Prefix a- + broad .] 1. At large; widely; broadly; over a wide space; as, a tree spreads its branches abroad .

The fox roams far abroad .
Prior.

2. Without a certain confine; outside the house; away from one's abode; as, to walk abroad .

I went to St. James', where another was preaching in the court abroad .
Evelyn.

3. Beyond the bounds of a country; in foreign countries; as, we have broils at home and enemies abroad . "Another prince . . . was living abroad ." Macaulay.

4. Before the public at large; throughout society or the world; here and there; widely.

He went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter.
Mark i. 45.

To be abroad . (a) To be wide of the mark; to be at fault; as, you are all abroad in your guess. (b) To be at a loss or nonplused.

Abrogable Ab"ro·ga·ble adjective Capable of being abrogated.

Abrogate Ab"ro·gate adjective [ Latin abrogatus , past participle ] Abrogated; abolished. [ Obsolete] Latimer.

Abrogate Ab"ro·gate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Abrogated ; present participle & verbal noun Abrogating .] [ Latin abrogatus , past participle of abrogare ; ab + rogare to ask, require, propose. See Rogation .] 1. To annul by an authoritative act; to abolish by the authority of the maker or his successor; to repeal; -- applied to the repeal of laws, decrees, ordinances, the abolition of customs, etc.

Let us see whether the New Testament abrogates what we so frequently see in the Old.
South.

Whose laws, like those of the Medes and Persian, they can not alter or abrogate .
Burke.

2. To put an end to; to do away with. Shak.

Syn. -- To abolish; annul; do away; set aside; revoke; repeal; cancel; annihilate. See Abolish .

Abrogation Ab`ro·ga"tion noun [ Latin abrogatio , from abrogare : confer French abrogation .] The act of abrogating; repeal by authority. Hume.

Abrogative Ab"ro·ga·tive adjective Tending or designed to abrogate; as, an abrogative law.

Abrogator Ab"ro·ga`tor noun One who repeals by authority.

Abrood A·brood" adverb [ Prefix a- + brood .] In the act of brooding. [ Obsolete] Abp. Sancroft.

Abrook A·brook" transitive verb [ Prefix a- + brook , v.] To brook; to endure. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Abrupt Ab·rupt" adjective [ Latin abruptus , past participle of abrumpere to break off; ab + rumpere to break. See Rupture .] 1. Broken off; very steep, or craggy, as rocks, precipices, banks; precipitous; steep; as, abrupt places. "Tumbling through ricks abrupt ," Thomson.

2. Without notice to prepare the mind for the event; sudden; hasty; unceremonious. "The cause of your abrupt departure." Shak.

3. Having sudden transitions from one subject to another; unconnected.

The abrupt style, which hath many breaches.
B. Jonson.

4. (Botany) Suddenly terminating, as if cut off. Gray.

Syn. -- Sudden; unexpected; hasty; rough; curt; unceremonious; rugged; blunt; disconnected; broken.

Abrupt Ab·rupt" noun [ Latin abruptum .] An abrupt place. [ Poetic]

"Over the vast abrupt ."
Milton.

Abrupt Ab·rupt" transitive verb To tear off or asunder. [ Obsolete] "Till death abrupts them." Sir T. Browne.

Abruption Ab·rup"tion noun [ Latin abruptio , from abrumpere : confer French abruption .] A sudden breaking off; a violent separation of bodies. Woodward.

Abruptly Ab·rupt"ly adverb 1. In an abrupt manner; without giving notice, or without the usual forms; suddenly.

2. Precipitously.

Abruptly pinnate (Botany) , pinnate without an odd leaflet, or other appendage, at the end. Gray.

Abruptness Ab·rupt"ness noun 1. The state of being abrupt or broken; craggedness; ruggedness; steepness.

2. Suddenness; unceremonious haste or vehemence; as, abruptness of style or manner.

Abscess Ab"scess noun ; plural Abscesses [ Latin abscessus a going away, gathering of humors, abscess, from abscessus , past participle of absedere to go away; ab , abs + cedere to go off, retire. See Cede .] (Medicine) A collection of pus or purulent matter in any tissue or organ of the body, the result of a morbid process.

Cold abscess , an abscess of slow formation, unattended with the pain and heat characteristic of ordinary abscesses, and lasting for years without exhibiting any tendency towards healing; a chronic abscess.

Abscession Ab·sces"sion noun [ Latin abscessio a separation; from absedere . See Abscess .] A separating; removal; also, an abscess. [ Obsolete] Gauden. Barrough.

Abscind Ab·scind" transitive verb [ Latin absindere ; ab + scindere to rend, cut. See Schism .] To cut off. [ R.] "Two syllables . . . abscinded from the rest." Johnson.

Abscision Ab·sci"sion noun [ Latin abscisio .] See Abscission .

Absciss Ab"sciss noun ; plural Abscisses See Abscissa .

Abscissa Ab·scis"sa noun ; E. plural Abscissas , Latin plural Abscissæ . [ Latin , fem. of abscissus , past participle of absindere to cut of. See Abscind .] (Geom.) One of the elements of reference by which a point, as of a curve, is referred to a system of fixed rectilineal coördinate axes. When referred to two intersecting axes, one of them called the axis of abscissas, or of X, and the other the axis of ordinates, or of Y, the abscissa of the point is the distance cut off from the axis of X by a line drawn through it and parallel to the axis of Y. When a point in space is referred to three axes having a common intersection, the abscissa may be the distance measured parallel to either of them, from the point to the plane of the other two axes. Abscissas and ordinates taken together are called coördinates. -- OX or PY is the abscissa of the point P of the curve, OY or PX its ordinate, the intersecting lines OX and OY being the axes of abscissas and ordinates respectively, and the point O their origin.

Abscission Ab·scis"sion noun [ Latin abscissio . See Abscind .] 1. The act or process of cutting off. "Not to be cured without the abscission of a member." Jer. Taylor.

2. The state of being cut off. Sir T. Browne.

3. (Rhet.) A figure of speech employed when a speaker having begun to say a thing stops abruptly: thus, "He is a man of so much honor and candor, and of such generosity -- but I need say no more."

Abscond Ab·scond" intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Absconded ; present participle & verbal noun Absconding .] [ Latin abscondere to hide; ab , abs + condere to lay up; con + dăre (only in comp.) to put. Confer Do .] 1. To hide, withdraw, or be concealed.

The marmot absconds all winter.
Ray.

2. To depart clandestinely; to steal off and secrete one's self; -- used especially of persons who withdraw to avoid a legal process; as, an absconding debtor.

That very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond .
Macaulay.

Abscond Ab·scond" transitive verb To hide; to conceal. [ Obsolete] Bentley.

Abscondence Ab·scond"ence noun Fugitive concealment; secret retirement; hiding. [ R.] Phillips.

Absconder Ab·scond"er noun One who absconds.

Absence Ab"sence noun [ French, from Latin absentia . See Absent .] 1. A state of being absent or withdrawn from a place or from companionship; -- opposed to presence .

Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence .
Phil. ii. 12.

2. Want; destitution; withdrawal. "In the absence of conventional law." Kent.

3. Inattention to things present; abstraction (of mind); as, absence of mind. "Reflecting on the little absences and distractions of mankind." Addison.

To conquer that abstraction which is called absence .
Landor.

Absent Ab"sent adjective [ French, from absens , absentis , present participle of abesse to be away from; ab + esse to be. Confer Sooth .] 1. Being away from a place; withdrawn from a place; not present. "Expecting absent friends." Shak.

2. Not existing; lacking; as, the part was rudimental or absent .

3. Inattentive to what is passing; absent-minded; preoccupied; as, an absent air.

What is commonly called an absent man is commonly either a very weak or a very affected man.
Chesterfield.

Syn. -- Absent , Abstracted . These words both imply a want of attention to surrounding objects. We speak of a man as absent when his thoughts wander unconsciously from present scenes or topics of discourse; we speak of him as abstracted when his mind (usually for a brief period) is drawn off from present things by some weighty matter for reflection. Absence of mind is usually the result of loose habits of thought; abstraction commonly arises either from engrossing interests and cares, or from unfortunate habits of association.

Absent Ab·sent" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Absented ; present participle & verbal noun Absenting .] [ Confer French absenter .] 1. To take or withdraw (one's self) to such a distance as to prevent intercourse; -- used with the reflexive pronoun.

If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined.
Addison.

2. To withhold from being present. [ Obsolete] "Go; for thy stay, not free, absents thee more." Milton.

Absent-minded Ab`sent-mind"ed adjective Absent in mind; abstracted; preoccupied. -- Ab`sent-mind"ed*ness , noun -- Ab`sent-mind"ed*ly , adverb

Absentaneous Ab`sen·ta"ne·ous adjective [ Late Latin absentaneus . See absent ] Pertaining to absence. [ Obsolete]

Absentation Ab`sen·ta"tion noun The act of absenting one's self. Sir W. Hamilton.

Absentee Ab`sen·tee" noun One who absents himself from his country, office, post, or duty; especially, a landholder who lives in another country or district than that where his estate is situated; as, an Irish absentee . Macaulay.

Absenteeism Ab`sen·tee"ism noun The state or practice of an absentee; esp. the practice of absenting one's self from the country or district where one's estate is situated.

Absenter Ab·sent"er noun One who absents one's self.

Absently Ab"sent·ly adverb In an absent or abstracted manner.

Absentment Ab·sent"ment (ăb*sĕnt"m e nt) noun The state of being absent; withdrawal. [ R.] Barrow.

Absentness Ab"sent·ness noun The quality of being absent-minded. H. Miller.

Absey-book Ab"sey-book` noun An A-B-C book; a primer. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Absinth, Absinthe Ab"sinth`, Ab"sinthe` noun [ French absinthe . See Absinthium .] 1. The plant absinthium or common wormwood.

2. A strong spirituous liqueur made from wormwood and brandy or alcohol.

Absinthate Ab"sin"thate noun (Chemistry) A combination of absinthic acid with a base or positive radical.

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