You’ve probably seen it in a legal document or maybe a particularly dry weather report. The word "abate" feels heavy. It’s got that old-world, Latin-root energy that makes people think they need to be wearing a powdered wig just to use it correctly. But honestly? Most of us trip over it because we try to make it do too much work.
If you're looking for a sentence with the word abate, you might start with something like, "The storm began to abate as the afternoon wore on." It’s simple. It’s clean. It works. But there is a whole world of nuance beneath that six-letter word that changes how a sentence actually lands with a reader.
"Abate" comes from the Old French abatre, which literally meant to beat down or fell. Think of a blacksmith hammering away at a piece of glowing metal. You aren't just "stopping" something; you're watching it diminish in intensity. It’s a process.
Why the context of "abate" actually matters
Most people confuse "abate" with "stop" or "end." They aren't the same. Not even close. If a car stops, it's stationary. If the noise of a car's engine begins to abate, it’s getting quieter, perhaps fading into the distance or muffled by a closing door. It’s about a reduction in degree.
Take a look at how legal professionals use it. In a courtroom, you might hear about "nuisance abatement." This isn't just fancy talk for "cleaning up." It’s a specific legal action to stop a public annoyance. If a neighbor’s dog won't stop barking at 3:00 AM, a court might order the owner to abate the noise. They aren't asking the dog to cease existing; they are demanding the reduction of the disturbance to a tolerable level.
Writing a sentence with the word abate requires you to understand this "lessening" aspect.
Consider this: "The fever did not abate until the third day of antibiotics."
Here, the fever didn't just vanish into thin air like a magic trick. It subsided. It receded. The body fought back, and the intensity of the heat dropped. That’s the sweet spot for using this word. If you use it for something binary—like a light switch—it feels clunky. You wouldn't say, "The light abated when I flipped the switch." That sounds ridiculous. But you would say, "The glare of the sun began to abate as the clouds rolled in."
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Common mistakes in modern usage
We see a lot of "word salad" in corporate emails. Someone might write, "We need to abate the costs of this project."
While technically okay, it feels forced. You'd be better off saying "cut" or "reduce." Why? Because "abate" usually carries a connotation of something forceful or natural—like pain, a storm, a riot, or a tax.
Speaking of taxes, "tax abatement" is one of the most common ways you’ll see this word in the wild. It’s a favorite for real estate investors and homeowners. Basically, it’s a reduction or an exemption from taxes for a specific period. A city might offer a ten-year tax abatement to encourage developers to move into a run-down neighborhood. It’s a huge incentive. It doesn't mean you pay zero taxes forever; it means the burden is lessened for a while to help you get on your feet.
How to use "abate" without sounding like a dictionary
If you want to sound natural, keep it tied to things that have "levels" of intensity.
- Pain: "After the surgery, the sharp throbbing in his leg began to abate, replaced by a dull ache."
- Emotions: "Her anger didn't abate, even after he apologized profusely."
- Weather: "Wait for the wind to abate before you try to fix the shingles on the roof."
- Legal/Formal: "The city council moved to abate the pollution coming from the old textile mill."
Notice how each of these involves a scale? Anger can be a 10 or a 2. Wind can be 60 mph or 5 mph. Pollution can be heavy or light. That’s where "abate" lives.
There is also a weird little quirk in the word's history. In heraldry—the study of coats of arms—an "abatement" was a mark of dishonor added to a shield. It was literally a "beating down" of someone's status. We don't use it that way much anymore, but it helps explain why the word feels a bit stern.
The "abate" vs. "alleviate" trap
This is where people usually get stuck. If you’re writing a sentence with the word abate, you might find yourself reaching for "alleviate" instead.
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Here’s the breakdown. To alleviate is to make something easier to endure. You alleviate suffering or symptoms. To abate is to actually reduce the thing itself.
If you have a headache, you take aspirin to alleviate the pain.
As the medicine works, the pain begins to abate.
It’s a subtle shift in perspective. Alleviate is about the person experiencing the problem; abate is about the problem itself getting smaller. Honestly, most people won't call you out if you swap them, but if you want to be precise, that’s the line in the sand.
Practical ways to weave it into your writing
Don't overthink it. If you're writing a story and a character is waiting out a storm, "abate" is your best friend. It creates a sense of time passing.
"The rain showed no signs of abating."
This is a classic line. It creates tension. It tells the reader that the external pressure is staying at a high level. It's much more evocative than "It kept raining."
In business, use it when talking about risks or liabilities. "We are waiting for the market volatility to abate before we make our next move." It sounds professional because it implies you are monitoring a situation that is currently "high" and waiting for it to become "low."
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Getting the grammar right
"Abate" can be both transitive and intransitive.
- Intransitive (no object): "The storm abated." (The storm did the action to itself).
- Transitive (with an object): "The court abated the lawsuit." (The court did something to the lawsuit).
Most of the time, you'll use it the first way. Something is abating. The noise is abating. The fervor is abating. The floodwaters are abating.
Actionable steps for better vocabulary usage
If you want to master this word and others like it, don't just memorize the definition. You have to see it in the wild.
First, start looking for it in news headlines, especially in the "Business" or "Legal" sections. You’ll see it used in discussions about inflation or interest rates. "Inflation begins to abate" is a headline you’ll see frequently when the economy starts to cool down.
Second, try replacing "stop" or "decrease" in your drafts. Ask yourself: "Is this thing I'm describing happening in degrees?" If the answer is yes, "abate" might be the better choice.
Third, watch out for "abate" vs. "rebate." They sound similar, but they are worlds apart. A rebate is getting money back after a purchase. An abatement is a reduction in what you owe in the first place. Don't go to a car dealership asking for a "price abatement"—they’ll just look at you funny. Ask for a rebate.
To really nail it, try writing three sentences right now. One about the weather, one about a feeling, and one about a sound.
- "The cheering in the stadium didn't abate until the visiting team left the field."
- "I’m hoping this toothache will abate once the ice pack kicks in."
- "Once the heavy winds abated, we finally ventured out to check the garden."
See? It’s not that scary. It’s just a way to describe the world losing a bit of its intensity. Whether it's a storm, a tax bill, or a bad mood, when things start to "abate," it usually means a breather is on the way. Use it when you want to show that something is fading out, not just cutting to black. Your writing will feel more rhythmic and, frankly, a lot more human.