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renunciation or repudiation. [Obs.] An abrenunciation of that truth which he so long had professed, and still believed. Fuller.

Hence: In a state to be diffused or propagated; afoot; astir. "Mischiefs that I set abroach." Shak.

tion of pus or purulent matter in any tissue or organ of the body, the result of a morbid process. Cold abscess, an abscess of slow formation, unattended with the pain and heat characteristic of ordinary abscesses, and lasting for years without exhibiting any tendency towards healing; a chronic abscess.…

The act or process of cutting off. "Not to be cured without the abscission of a member." Jer. Taylor.

l off and secrete one's self; -- used especially of persons who withdraw to avoid a legal process; as, an absconding debtor. That very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond. Macaulay.

raw (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.

; unrestricted; unconditional; as, absolute authority, monarchy, sovereignty, an absolute promise or command; absolute power; an absolute monarch.

or from the consequences of guilt or such ties as it would 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.

The vessels by which the processes of absorption are carried on, as the lymphatics in animals, the extremities of the roots in plants.

The act or process of absorbing or sucking in anything, or of being absorbed and made to disappear; as, the absorption of bodies in a whirlpool, the absorption of a smaller tribe into a larger.

Promotive of abstemiousness. [R.] Such is the virtue of the abstemious well. Dryden.

ing 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 a present pleasure that offers itself is a pain, nay, oftentimes, a very great one. Locke.…

Expressing a particular property of an object viewed apart from the other properties which constitute it; -- opposed to Ant: concrete; as, honesty is an abstract word. J. S. Mill.

The act process of leaving out of consideration one or more properties of a complex object so as to attend to others; analysis. Thus, when the mind considers the form of a tree by itself, or the color of the leaves as separate from their size or figure, the act is called abstraction. So, also, when it considers whitene…

The quality of being abstractive; abstractive property.

prehension; difficult to be comprehended or understood; recondite; as, abstruse learning. Profound and abstruse topics. Milman.

Contrary to reason or propriety; obviously and fiatly opposed to manifest truth; inconsistent with the plain dictates of common sense; logically contradictory; nonsensical; ridiculous; as, an absurd person, an absurd opinion; an absurd dream. This proffer is absurd and reasonless. Shak. 'This phrase absurd to call a vi…

An overflowing fullness; ample sufficiency; great plenty; profusion; copious supply; superfluity; wealth: -- strictly applicable to quantity only, but sometimes used of number. It is lamentable to remember what abundance of noble blood hath been shed with small benefit to the Christian state. Raleigh.…

Wrongly used; perverted; misapplied. I am . . . necessitated to use the word Parliament improperly, according to the abusive acceptation thereof. Fuller.

ss of language, or violence to the person. Pick out mirth, like stones out of thy ground, Profaneness, filthiness, abusiveness. Herbert.