abate

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• intransitive verb To reduce in amount, degree, or intensity; lessen.
• intransitive verb To put an end to.
• intransitive verb To make void.
• intransitive verb To reduce for some period of time.
• intransitive verb To fall off in degree or intensity; subside: synonym: decrease.
• intransitive verb To become void.
• intransitive verb To become reduced for a period of time.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun See abbate.
• To beat down; pull or batter down.
• To deduct; subtract; withdraw from consideration.
• To lessen; diminish; moderate: as, to abate a demand or a tax.
• To deject; depress.
• To deprive; curtail.
• To deprive of; take away from.
• In law: To cause to fail; extinguish: as, a cause of action for damages for a personal tort is abated by the death of either party.
• To suspend or stop the progress of: as, where the cause of action survives the death of a party, the action may be abated until an executor or administrator can be appointed and substituted.
• To reduce: as, a legacy is abated if the assets, after satisfying the debts, are not sufficient to pay it in full.
• To destroy or remove; put an end to (a nuisance).
• In metallurgy, to reduce to a lower temper.
• To steep in an alkaline solution: usually shortened to bate. See bate.
• To decrease or become less in strength or violence: as, pain abates; the storm has abated.
• In law: To fail; come to a premature end; stop progress or diminish: as, an action or cause of action may abate by the death or marriage of a party. To enter into a freehold after the death of the last possessor, and before the heir or devisee takes possession. Blackstone.
• In the manège, to perform well a downward motion.
• In falconry, to flutter; beat with the wings. See bate.
• noun Abatement or decrease.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun obsolete Abatement.
• transitive verb obsolete To beat down; to overthrow.
• transitive verb To bring down or reduce from a higher to a lower state, number, or degree; to lessen; to diminish; to contract; to moderate; to cut short
• transitive verb To deduct; to omit.
• transitive verb obsolete To blunt.
• transitive verb obsolete To reduce in estimation; to deprive.
• transitive verb To bring entirely down or put an end to; to do away with.
• transitive verb (Eng. Law) To diminish; to reduce. Legacies are liable to be abated entirely or in proportion, upon a deficiency of assets.
• transitive verb to remit it either wholly or in part.
• intransitive verb To decrease, or become less in strength or violence.
• intransitive verb To be defeated, or come to naught; to fall through; to fail.
• intransitive verb (Law) to enter into a freehold after the death of the last possessor, and before the heir takes possession. See Abatement, 4.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb transitive To cut away or hammer down, in such a way as to leave a figure in relief, as a sculpture, or in metalwork.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• verb become less in amount or intensity
• verb make less active or intense