1: a substance that abrades or wears down [syn: {abrasive}, {abradant}]

1: the roughness of a substance that causes abrasions [syn: {harshness}, {scratchiness}] 2: the quality of being sharply disagreeable

1: discharge bad feelings or tension through verbalization

1: (psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions [syn: {catharsis}, {katharsis}]

1: alongside each other, facing on the same direction

1: being up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge; "kept abreast of the latest developments"; "constant revision keeps the book au courant"; "always au fait on th...

1: reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" [syn: {foreshorten}, {abbreviate}, {shorten}, {cut}, {contract}, {reduce}] [ant: {elaborate}]

1: (used of texts) shortened by condensing or rewriting; "an abridged version" [ant: {unabridged}]

1: a shortened version of a written work [syn: {condensation}, {abridgment}, {capsule}]

1: one who shortens or abridges or condenses a written work [syn: {abbreviator}]

1: a shortened version of a written work [syn: {condensation}, {abridgement}, {capsule}]

1: of a cask or barrel; "the cask was set abroach" [syn: {broached}]

1: in a foreign country; "markets abroad"; "overseas markets" [syn: {overseas}] adv 1: to or in a foreign country; "they had never travelled abroad" 2: far away from home or one's usual surroundings; ...

1: abrocomes [syn: {genus Abrocoma}]

1: ratlike rodent with soft fur and large ears of the Andes [syn: {chinchilla rat}, {rat chinchilla}]

1: revoke formally

1: the act of abrogating; an official or legal cancellation [syn: {repeal}, {annulment}]

1: an authority or official empowered to abolish or annul or repeal

1: genus of western North American herbs having showy flowers [syn: {genus Abronia}]

1: plant having heads of fragrant white trumpet-shaped flowers; grows in sandy arid regions [syn: {snowball}, {sweet sand verbena}]

1: taller than Abronia elliptica and having night-blooming flowers [syn: {sweet sand verbena}]

1: plant having hemispherical heads of yellow trumpet-shaped flowers; found in coastal dunes from California to British Columbia [syn: {yellow sand verbena}]

1: plant having hemispherical heads of wine-red flowers; found in coastal dunes from California to Mexico [syn: {beach pancake}]

1: prostrate herb having heads of deep pink to white flowers; found in coastal dunes from British Columbia to Baja California [syn: {beach sand verbena}, {pink sand verbena}]

1: soft-haired sticky plant with heads of bright pink trumpet-shaped flowers; found in sandy desert soil; after ample rains may carpet miles of desert with pink from the southwestern United States to ...

1: marked by sudden changes in subject and sharp transitions; "abrupt prose" [syn: {disconnected}] 2: exceedingly sudden and unexpected; "came to an abrupt stop"; "an abrupt change in the weather" 3: ...

1: a disorder of pregnancy in which the placenta prematurely separates from the wall of the uterus

1: an instance of breaking off suddenly [syn: {breaking off}]

1: quickly and without warning; "he stopped suddenly" [syn: {suddenly}, {short}, {dead}]

1: of a leaf shape; pinnate with a pair of leaflets at the apex [syn: {even-pinnate}, {paripinnate}]

1: pinnate with a pair of leaflets at the apex [syn: {even-pinnate leaf}]

1: an abrupt discourteous manner [syn: {brusqueness}, {curtness}, {gruffness}, {shortness}] 2: the property possessed by a slope that is very steep [syn: {precipitousness}, {steepness}] [ant: {gradual...

1: a mountainous region of central Italy on the Adriatic [syn: {Abruzzi e Molise}]

1: a mountainous region of central Italy on the Adriatic [syn: {Abruzzi}]

1: any of a class of plastics based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers

1: symptom consisting of a localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue

1: infected and filled with pus; "an abscessed tooth"

1: an abscess of a common kind in the tissue around a tooth

1: shed flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of a scar tissue 2: remove or separate by abscission

1: the value of a coordinate on the horizontal axis [also: {abscissae} (pl)]

{abscissa}

1: shedding of flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of scar tissue in a plant 2: the act of cutting something off [syn: {cutting off}]

1: run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along [syn: {bolt}, {absquatulate}, {decamp}, {run off}, {go off}]

1: a fugitive who runs away and hides to avoid arrest or prosecution

1: the act of running away secretly (as to avoid arrest) [syn: {decampment}]

1: a descent down a nearly vertical surface by using a doubled rope that is coiled around the body and attached to some higher point v : lower oneself with a double rope coiled around the body from a ...

1: a person who descends down a nearly vertical face by using a doubled rope that is wrapped around the body and attached to some high point

1: the state of being absent; "he was surprised by the absence of any explanation" [ant: {presence}] 2: failure to be present [ant: {presence}] 3: the time interval during which something or somebody ...

1: unauthorized military absence [syn: {unauthorized absence}]

1: not in a specified place physically or mentally [ant: {present}] 2: lost in thought; showing preoccupation; "an absent stare"; "an absentminded professer"; "the scatty glancing quality of a hyperac...

1: one that is absent or not in residence

1: (election) a ballot that is cast in absentia (usually mailed in prior to election day)

1: the percentage of workers who do not report to work

1: habitual absence from work

1: in an absent-minded or preoccupied manner; "he read the letter absently" [syn: {abstractedly}, {inattentively}, {absentmindedly}]

1: lost in thought; showing preoccupation; "an absent stare"; "an absentminded professer"; "the scatty glancing quality of a hyperactive but unfocused intelligence" [syn: {absent}, {abstracted}, {scat...

1: in an absent-minded or preoccupied manner; "he read the letter absently" [syn: {absently}, {abstractedly}, {inattentively}]

1: preoccupation so great that the ordinary demands on attention are ignored

1: strong green liqueur flavored with wormwood and anise [syn: {absinthe}]

1: aromatic herb of temperate Eurasia and North Africa having a bitter taste used in making the liqueur absinthe [syn: {common wormwood}, {old man}, {lad's love}, {Artemisia absinthium}] 2: strong gre...

1: a dark bitter oil obtained obtained from wormwood leaves; flavors absinthe liqueurs [syn: {wormwood oil}]

1: perfect or complete or pure; "absolute loyalty"; "absolute silence"; "absolute truth"; "absolute alcohol" [ant: {relative}] 2: complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used info...

1: pure ethyl alcohol (containing no more than 1% water)

1: the maximum altitude at which an airplane can maintain horizontal flight

1: the number of observations in a given statistical category [syn: {frequency}]

1: (astronomy) the magnitude that a star would have if it were viewed from a distance of 10 parsecs (32.62 light years) from the earth

1: (elections) more than half of the votes [syn: {majority}]

1: the ability to identify the pitch of a tone [syn: {perfect pitch}]

1: a temperature scale that defines absolute zero as 0 degrees; water freezes at 273.16 degrees and boils at 373.16 degrees [syn: {Kelvin scale}]

1: physical space independent of what occupies it

1: temperature measured on the absolute scale

1: the lowest level of stimulation that a person can detect

1: a numerical value regardless of its sign

1: a measure of the resistance to flow of a fluid under an applied force [syn: {coefficient of viscosity}, {dynamic viscosity}]

1: (cryogenics) the lowest temperature theoretically attainable (at which the kinetic energy of atoms and molecules is minimal); 0 Kelvin or -273.15 Centigrade or -459.67 Fahrenheit

1: completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers; "an absolutely magnificent painting"; "a perfectly idiotic idea"; "you're perfectly right"; "utterly miserable"; "you can be d...

1: the quality of being absolute; "the absoluteness of the Pope's decree could not be challenged"

1: the condition of being formally forgiven by a priest in the sacrament of penance 2: the act of absolving or remitting; formal redemption as pronounced by a priest in the sacrament of penance [syn: ...

1: dominance through threat of punishment and violence [syn: {tyranny}, {despotism}] 2: a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opp...

1: pertaining to the principle of totalitarianism [syn: {absolutistic}] n : one who advocates absolutism

1: pertaining to the principle of totalitarianism [syn: {absolutist}]

1: grant remission of a sin to; "The priest absolved him and told him to say ten Hail Mary's" 2: let off the hook; "I absolve you from this responsibility" [syn: {justify}, {free}] [ant: {blame}]

1: freed from any question of guilt; "is absolved from all blame"; "was now clear of the charge of cowardice"; "his official honor is vindicated" [syn: {clear}, {cleared}, {exculpated}, {exonerated}, ...

1: someone who grants absolution

1: providing absolution [syn: {exonerative}, {forgiving}]

1: become imbued; "The liquids, light, and gases absorb" 2: take up mentally; "he absorbed the knowledge or beliefs of his tribe" [syn: {assimilate}, {ingest}, {take in}] 3: take up, as of debts or pa...

1: capable of being absorbed or taken in through the pores of a surface [ant: {adsorbable}]

1: a material that has been or is capable of being absorbed

1: wholly absorbed as in thought; "deep in thought"; "that engrossed look or rapt delight"; "the book had her totally engrossed"; "enwrapped in dreams"; "so intent on this fantastic...narrative that s...

1: inducing or promoting absorption [syn: {sorbefacient}]

1: the property of being absorbent [ant: {nonabsorbency}]

1: having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up (liquids); "as absorbent as a sponge" [syn: {absorptive}] [ant: {nonabsorbent}] n : a material having capacity or tendency to absorb anothe...

1: cotton made absorbent by removal of the natural wax

1: a material having capacity or tendency to absorb another substance [syn: {absorbent}]

1: (physics) material in a nuclear reactor that absorbs radiation

1: capable of arousing and holding the attention; "a fascinating story" [syn: {engrossing}, {fascinating}, {gripping}, {riveting}]

1: a measure of the rate of decrease in the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (as light) as it passes through a given substance; the fraction of incident radiant energy absorbed per unit mass or ...

1: (chemistry) a process in which one substance permeates another; a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid [syn: {soaking up}] 2: (physics) the process in which incident radiated energy...

1: a dark band in the spectrum of white light that has been transmitted through a substance that exhibits absorption at selective wavelengths

1: a measure of the rate of decrease in the intensity of electromagnetic radiation (as light) as it passes through a given substance; the fraction of incident radiant energy absorbed per unit mass or ...

1: (physics) the property of a body that determines the fraction of the incident radiation or sound flux absorbed or absorbable by the body [syn: {absorptivity}]

1: an indicator used in reactions that involve precipitation

1: the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation that has passed through a medium that absorbed radiation of certain wavelengths

1: a unit for measuring absorption

1: having power or capacity or tendency to absorb or soak up (liquids); "as absorbent as a sponge" [syn: {absorbent}] [ant: {nonabsorbent}]

1: (physics) the property of a body that determines the fraction of the incident radiation or sound flux absorbed or absorbable by the body [syn: {absorption factor}]

1: run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along [syn: {abscond}, {bolt}, {decamp}, {run off}, {go off}]

1: refrain from voting 2: choose no to consume; "I abstain from alcohol" [syn: {refrain}, {desist}] [ant: {consume}]

1: practices self denial as spiritual discipline [syn: {ascetic}] 2: a person who refrains from drinking intoxicating beverages [syn: {abstinent}, {nondrinker}] [ant: {drinker}]

1: sparing in consumption of especially food and drink; "the pleasures of the table, never of much consequence to one naturally abstemious"- John Galsworthy [ant: {gluttonous}] 2: marked by temperance...

1: in a sparing manner; without overindulgence; "he ate and drank abstemiously"; "indulged temperately in cocktails" [syn: {temperately}]

1: restricted to bare necessities 2: moderation in eating and drinking

1: the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol) [syn: {abstinence}]

1: self-restraining; not indulging an appetite especially for food or drink; "not totally abstinent but abstemious" [syn: {abstinent}]

1: the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol) [syn: {abstention}] 2: act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite

1: self-restraining; not indulging an appetite especially for food or drink; "not totally abstinent but abstemious" [syn: {abstentious}] n : a person who refrains from drinking intoxicating beverages ...

1: existing only in the mind; separated from embodiment; "abstract words like `truth' and `justice'" [ant: {concrete}] 2: not representing or imitating external reality or the objects of nature; "a la...

1: an abstract genre of art; artistic content depends on internal form rather than pictorial representation [syn: {abstractionism}]

1: a painter of abstract pictures [syn: {abstractionist}]

1: a New York school of painting characterized by freely created abstractions; the first important school of American painting to develop independently of European styles [syn: {action painting}]