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The substance rubbed off. Berkeley.

Up to a certain level or line; equally advanced; as, to keep abreast of [or with] the present state of science.

of the maker or his successor; to repeal; -- applied to the repeal of laws, decrees, ordinances, the abolition of customs, etc. Let us see whether the New Testament abrogates what we so frequently see in the Old. South. Whose laws, like those of the Medes and Persian, they can not alter or abrogate. Burke.…

To take or withdraw (one's self) to such a distance as to prevent intercourse; -- used with the reflexive pronoun. If after due summons any member absents himself, he is to be fined. Addison.

The exercise of priestly jurisdiction in the sacrament of penance, by which Catholics believe the sins of the truly penitent are forgiven.

ld be sin or guilt to violate; to pronounce free; as, to absolve a subject from his allegiance; to absolve an offender, which amounts to an acquittal and remission of his punishment. Halifax was absolved by a majority of fourteen. Macaulay.

rcoal absorbs gases. So heat, light, and electricity are absorbed or taken up in the substances into which they pass. Nichol. p. 8

Any substance which absorbs and neutralizes acid fluid in the stomach and bowels, as magnesia, chalk, etc.; also a substance e. g., iodine) which acts on the absorbent vessels so as to reduce enlarged and indurated parts.

drinks; temperate; abstinent; sparing in the indulgence of the appetite or passions. Instances of longevity are chiefly among the abstemious. Arbuthnot.

the use of food and strong drinks. It expresses a greater degree of abstinence than temperance.

A substance used in cleansing; a detergent; as, soap is an abstergent.

The act or practice of abstaining; voluntary forbearance of any action, especially the refraining from an indulgence of appetite, or from customary gratifications of animal or sensual propensities. Specifically, the practice of abstaining from intoxicating beverages, -- called also total abstinence. The abstinence from…

One of a sect who appeared in France and Spain in the 3d century.

Abstracted; absent in mind. "Abstract, as in a trance." Milton. An abstract idea (Metaph.), an idea separated from a complex object, or from other ideas which naturally accompany it; as the solidity of marble when contemplated apart from its color or figure. -- Abstract terms, those which express abstract ideas, as be…

A society of learned men united for the advancement of the arts and sciences, and literature, or some particular art or science; as, the French Academy; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; academies of literature and philology.

elocity; -- opposed to retardation. A period of social improvement, or of intellectual advancement, contains within itself a principle of acceleration. I. Taylor. (Astr. & Physics.) Acceleration of the moon, the increase of the moon's mean motion in its orbit, in consequence of which its period of revolution is now sho…

In an accentual manner; in accordance with accent.

In a deliberate body, to receive in acquittance of a duty imposed; as, to accept the report of a committee. [This makes it the property of the body, and the question is then on its adoption.] To accept a bill (Law), to agree (on the part of the drawee) to pay it when due. -- To accept service (Law), to agree that a wr…

The quality of being acceptable; acceptableness. "Acceptability of repentance." Jer. Taylor.

Acceptance. [R.] Here's a proof of gift, But here's no proof, sir, of acceptancy. Mrs. Browning.