abatement

/əˈbeɪtmənt/

/əˈbeɪtmənt/

Other forms: abatements

An abatement is a reduction or lessening. If you start bluntly telling people what you think of them, you might see an abatement in their friendliness toward you.

Abatement comes from the French word for batter, but abatement doesn’t usually have a negative sense — abatement reduces something, but doesn’t beat it to a pulp. Many cities offer tax abatements to reward businesses starting up in areas they want to develop. If your heat doesn't work, you could sue your landlord for a rent abatement, since you shouldn't have to pay rent for days you don't have heat.

Definitions of abatement

1. noun

   the act of abating
   “laws enforcing noise abatement”

   types:

   abatement of a nuisance, nuisance abatement

   (law) the removal or termination or destruction of something that has been found to be a nuisance

   asbestos abatement

   the removal of asbestos from a public building

   type of:

   mitigation, moderation

   the action of lessening in severity or intensity
2. noun

   an interruption in the intensity or amount of something
   synonyms: hiatus, reprieve, respite, suspension

   types:

   defervescence

   abatement of a fever as indicated by a reduction in body temperature

   remission, remittal, subsidence

   an abatement in intensity or degree (as in the manifestations of a disease)

   resolution

   the subsidence of swelling or other signs of inflammation (especially in a lung)

   type of:

   break

   some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity