aah

express admiration and pleasure by uttering `ooh' or `aah'; "They oohed and aahed when they unwrapped the presents" ;

abacinate

blind by holding a red-hot metal plate before someone's eyes; "The prisoners were abacinated by their captors" ;

abandon

stop maintaining or insisting on; of ideas or claims; "He abandoned the thought of asking for her hand in marriage"; "Both sides have to give up some claims in these negotiations" ; leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; "The mother deserted her children" ; leave behind empty; move out of; "You must vacate your office by tonight" ; give up with the intent of never claiming again; "Abandon your life to God"; "She gave up her children to her ex-husband when she moved to Tahiti"; "We gave the drowning victim up for dead" ; forsake, leave behind; "We abandoned the old car in the empty parking lot" ;

abase

cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of; "He humiliated his colleague by criticising him in front of the boss" ;

abash

cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious ;

abate

become less in amount or intensity; "The storm abated"; "The rain let up after a few hours" ; make less active or intense ;

abbreviate

shorten; "Abbreviate `New York' and write `NY'" ; reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" ;

abdicate

give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations; "The King abdicated when he married a divorcee" ;

abduce

advance evidence for ;

abduct

pull away from the body; "this muscle abducts" ; take away to an undisclosed location against their will and usually in order to extract a ransom; "The industrialist's son was kidnapped" ;

aberrate

diverge or deviate from the straight path; produce aberration; "The surfaces of the concave lens may be proportioned so as to aberrate exactly equal to the convex lens" ; diverge from the expected; "The President aberrated from being a perfect gentleman" ;

abet

assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing ;

abhor

find repugnant; "I loathe that man"; "She abhors cats" ;

abide

put up with something or somebody unpleasant; "I cannot bear his constant criticism"; "The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"; "he learned to tolerate the heat"; "She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage" ; dwell; "You can stay with me while you are in town"; "stay a bit longer--the day is still young" ;

abide by

show respect towards; "honor your parents!" ; act in accordance with someone's rules, commands, or wishes; "He complied with my instructions"; "You must comply or else!"; "Follow these simple rules"; "abide by the rules" ;

abjure

formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure; "He retracted his earlier statements about his religion"; "She abjured her beliefs" ;

ablactate

gradually deprive (infants and young mammals) of mother's milk; "she weaned her baby when he was 3 months old and started him on powdered milk"; "The kitten was weaned and fed by its owner with a bottle" ;

ablate

remove an organ or bodily structure ; wear away through erosion or vaporization ;

abnegate

deny or renounce; "They abnegated their gods" ; surrender; "The King abnegated his power to the ministers" ; deny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasure; "She denied herself wine and spirits" ;

abolish

do away with; "Slavery was abolished in the mid-19th century in America and in Russia" ;

abominate

find repugnant; "I loathe that man"; "She abhors cats" ;

abort

terminate a pregnancy by undergoing an abortion ; cease development, die, and be aborted; "an aborting fetus" ; terminate before completion; "abort the mission"; "abort the process running on my computer" ;

abound

be abundant or plentiful; exist in large quantities ; be in a state of movement or action; "The room abounded with screaming children"; "The garden bristled with toddlers" ;

abound in

exist in large quantity ;

about-face

change one's mind and assume the opposite viewpoint ; turn, usually 180 degrees ;

abrade

rub hard or scrub; "scour the counter tops" ; wear away ;

abrase

wear away ;

abreact

discharge bad feelings or tension through verbalization ;

abridge

lessen, diminish, or curtail; "the new law might abridge our freedom of expression" ; reduce in scope while retaining essential elements; "The manuscript must be shortened" ;

abrogate

revoke formally ;

abscise

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

abscond

run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along; "The thief made off with our silver"; "the accountant absconded with the cash from the safe" ;

abseil

lower oneself with a double rope coiled around the body from a mountainside; "The ascent was easy--roping down the mountain would be much more difficult and dangerous"; "You have to learn how to abseil when you want to do technical climbing" ;

absent

go away or leave; "He absented himself" ;

absolve

let off the hook; "I absolve you from this responsibility" ; grant remission of a sin to; "The priest absolved him and told him to say ten Hail Mary's" ;

absorb

cause to become one with; "The sales tax is absorbed into the state income tax" ; engage or engross wholly; "Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely" ; engross (oneself) fully; "He immersed himself into his studies" ; take up mentally; "he absorbed the knowledge or beliefs of his tribe" ; assimilate or take in; "The immigrants were quickly absorbed into society" ; take in, also metaphorically; "The sponge absorbs water well"; "She drew strength from the minister's words" ; become imbued; "The liquids, light, and gases absorb" ; take up, as of debts or payments; "absorb the costs for something" ; suck or take up or in; "A black star absorbs all matter" ;

absquatulate

run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along; "The thief made off with our silver"; "the accountant absconded with the cash from the safe" ;

abstain

choose not to consume; "I abstain from alcohol" ; refrain from voting ;

abstract

consider a concept without thinking of a specific example; consider abstractly or theoretically ; consider apart from a particular case or instance; "Let's abstract away from this particular example" ; give an abstract (of) ; make off with belongings of others ;

abuse

change the inherent purpose or function of something; "Don't abuse the system"; "The director of the factory misused the funds intended for the health care of his workers" ; use wrongly or improperly or excessively; "Her husband often abuses alcohol"; "while she was pregnant, she abused drugs" ; use foul or abusive language towards; "The actress abused the policeman who gave her a parking ticket"; "The angry mother shouted at the teacher" ; treat badly; "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead" ;