abrasive

a substance that abrades or wears down ;

abrasive material

a substance that abrades or wears down ;

abrasiveness

the quality of being sharply disagreeable ; the roughness of a substance that causes abrasions ;

abreaction

(psychoanalysis) purging of emotional tensions ;

abridgement

a shortened version of a written work ;

abridger

one who shortens or abridges or condenses a written work ;

abridgment

a shortened version of a written work ;

abrocoma

abrocomes ;

abrocome

ratlike rodent with soft fur and large ears of the Andes ;

abrogation

the act of abrogating; an official or legal cancellation ;

abrogator

an authority or official empowered to abolish or annul or repeal ;

abronia

genus of western North American herbs having showy flowers ;

abronia elliptica

plant having heads of fragrant white trumpet-shaped flowers; grows in sandy arid regions ;

abronia fragrans

taller than Abronia elliptica and having night-blooming flowers ;

abronia latifolia

plant having hemispherical heads of yellow trumpet-shaped flowers; found in coastal dunes from California to British Columbia ;

abronia maritima

plant having hemispherical heads of wine-red flowers; found in coastal dunes from California to Mexico ;

abronia umbellata

prostrate herb having heads of deep pink to white flowers; found in coastal dunes from British Columbia to Baja California ;

abronia villosa

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 northern Mexico ;

abruptio placentae

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

abruption

an instance of sudden interruption ;

abruptly-pinnate leaf

a pinnate leaf with a pair of leaflets at the apex ;

abruptness

an abrupt discourteous manner ; the quality of happening with headlong haste or without warning ; the property possessed by a slope that is very steep ;

abruzzi

a mountainous region of central Italy on the Adriatic ;

abruzzi e molise

a mountainous region of central Italy on the Adriatic ;

abs

any of a class of composite plastics used to make car bodies and cases for computers and other appliances ;

abscess

symptom consisting of a localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue ;

abscessed tooth

an abscess of a common kind in the tissue around a tooth ;

abscissa

the value of a coordinate on the horizontal axis ;

abscission

the act of cutting something off ; shedding of flowers and leaves and fruit following formation of scar tissue in a plant ;

absconder

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

abscondment

the act of running away secretly (as to avoid arrest) ;

abseil

a descent down a nearly vertical surface by using a doubled rope that is coiled around the body and attached to some higher point ;

abseiler

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 ;

absence

failure to be present ; the state of being absent; "he was surprised by the absence of any explanation" ; epilepsy characterized by paroxysmal attacks of brief clouding of consciousness (a possible other abnormalities) ; the time interval during which something or somebody is away; "he visited during my absence" ;

absence without leave

unauthorized military absence ;

absentee

one that is absent or not in residence ;

absentee ballot

(election) a ballot that is cast while absent (usually mailed in prior to election day) ;

absentee rate

the percentage of workers who do not report to work ;

absenteeism

habitual absence from work ;

absentmindedness

preoccupation so great that the ordinary demands on attention are ignored ;