Crossword Dictionary
abate
Become less in amount or intensity
Synonyms
decrease, diminish, dwindle, lessen, recede, subside, wane, weaken
About
Something that abates becomes fewer or less intense. Your enthusiasm for skiing might abate after falling off a ski lift and getting a mouthful of snow.
Abate comes from the Old French verb abattre, "to beat down," and means to reduce or become less intense or numerous. As an intransitive verb, it is often used with something physically, emotionally, or figuratively violent, as in "the flood of fan mail began to abate." Using it transitively, if you take measures to abate pollution or noise, you reduce them. Pronounce abate with the stress on the second syllable (uh-BATE).
recede
verb
If something recedes from you, it moves away.
When something such as a quality, problem, or illness recedes, it becomes weaker, smaller, or less intense.
Synonyms
lessen, decline, subside, abate, sink, fade, shrink, diminish, dwindle, wane, ebb
examples:
‘At the velocity that you recede.’
‘The swelling in his eye began to recede.’
‘And the water behind me seemed to recede.’
‘And the silhouettes recede into the dense fog.’
‘After a few seconds, the sounds began to recede.’
‘I went out on deck and watched the port recede.’
‘Jodie watched the back of the boy’s head recede.’
‘He lay there, waiting for the waves of pain to recede.’