-ate (to do) (Latin: a suffix; to do, to make, to cause, or to act upon; to do something with)
abbreviate
Abridged, shortened, cut short.
The -brev- in this word comes from Latin brevis, "short", which is also the source of brief. Therefore, abbreviate means to make briefer, to make shorter by combining or omitting. abdicate
1. To proclaim or declare to be no longer one's own, to disclaim, disown, cast off; especially, to disown or disinherit children. Now only as a technical term of Roman Law (Latin abdicare filium, also abdicare patrem).
2. To formally give up (a right, trust, office, or dignity); to renounce, lay down, surrender, abandon; at first implying voluntary renunciation, but now including the idea of abandonment by default.
3. To renounce or relinquish sovereignty, or its equivalent. 4. To renounce, to reject, to resign.
A king who abdicates renounces or swears away his kingly privileges and duties. abdicate, abrogate, arrogate, derogate, delegate, delicate
abdicate (AB duh kayt")
1. To formally renounce, which is commonly done by a monarch of a throne; vacate a throne, relinquish, abandon: "Edward VIII of England abdicated the throne so he could marry a commoner."
2. A person can also “abdicate” his power, office, duties, or rights: "He abdicated his responsibilities as a father and never returned."
abrogate (AB ruh gayt")
1. To abolish or to annul by authority; to nullify, to cancel: "Congress must abrogate the new tax law."
2. To repeal, to annul, or to abolish something formally and publicly; especially, a law.
arrogate (AIR uh gayt")
1. To claim, to take, to appropriate, or to assume for oneself without right; as when a person arrogates certain privileges to himself: "He arrogated to himself the powers of a General. Some Presidents have arrogated the power of Congress to declare war."
2. To assign or attribute to another person without justification: "He accused the woman of arrogating to herself the power to punish people."
delegate (DEL uh gayt")
1. Someone who is authorized or sent to speak and act for others; representative, as at a convention: "Every state will send a delegate to the convention."
2. To entrust (authority, power, etc.) to a person acting as one’s agent or representative; entrust, assign, give over, charge, commit to the care of: "She delegated her power of attorney to her nephew."
A delegate is a person sent with authority to represent another or others; to delegate work or authority is to transfer or send it to someone else. delicate (DEL i kit)
1. Pleasing in its lightness, mildness, subtlety, etc. (a delicate flavor, odor, color, etc.); fine, dainty, exquisite, elegant: "The queen wore a long gown of delicate silk."
2. Easily damaged, spoiled, fragile, frail, perishable; dainty: "The plate was so delicate that I was afraid to wash it."
3. Frail, feeble, debilitated, weakened; infirm, unwell, sickly, ailing: "We were concerned about her delicate condition."
4. Palatable, savory, delicious, appetizing, luscious: "Our hostess presented a tray of delicate food."
5. Soft, muted, subdued: "They had the walls painted with a delicate blue."
6. Exquisite, minute, detailed: "We admired the delicate workmanship on the bronze doors."
7. Tactful, tasteful, diplomatic, careful, sensitive, refined: "He handled the situation in a delicate manner."
abnegate
To give up or to surrender.
acceleratative
accentuate
1. To make a feature of something more noticeable: "We were convinced that the newspaper article accentuated, or emphasized, the positive aspects of the program."
2. To emphasize a syllable, word, or phrase when saying it: "When she spoke, she tended to accentuate her words with French pronunciations."
3. Etymology: known from 1731, from Medieval Latin (written and spoken from 700 to 1500) accentuatus, past participle of accentuare, "to accent", from Latin accentus, "song added to speech"; from ad-, "to" + cantus, "a singing"; past participle of canere, "to sing".
accurate
1. Giving a correct, or truthful, representation of something: "His account of what happened yesterday was not accurate."
2. That which is precise or free from errors and done with care; such as, an accurate report.
3. Capable of providing information in accordance with an accepted standard: "The radio-controlled watch provides the most accurate time."
Word History
To do something accurately, one must do it carefully; as even the etymology of the word suggests. Latin cura means "care", and accurare means "to expend care on, to take care of". The past participle accuratus means "done with care", and from it we have made our word accurate.
—Picturesque Word Origins; G. & C. Merriam Company;
Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A; 1933; pages 7.
acetate
1. A salt or ester of acetic acid.
2. Cellulose acetate or any of various products, especially fibers, derived from it.
adjudicate
1. In law, to hear and decide (a case), to reach a judicial decision about something; adjudge.
2. Someone who serves as a judge and to make an official decision about a problem or dispute.
adulterate
1. To corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones; mixed with impurities.
2. To adulterate, to debase, to doctor. These verbs mean to make impure or inferior by adding foreign substances to something: to adulterate coffee with ground acorns; to have silver debased with copper; having doctored the wine with water; to use rag paper loaded with wood fiber.
3. Debased by the admixture of a foreign substance; adulterated; spurious.
4. Tainted with adultery.
5. To commit adultery.
6. To corrupt, debase, or make impure by an admixture of a foreign or a baser substance; as, to adulterate food, drink, drugs, coin, etc.
7. To defile by adultery.
Etymologically, to make impure by admixture; to corrupt from Latin adulteratus, past participle of adulterare, "to falsify, corrupt; to corrupt a woman; to commit adultery", dissimilated from ad- alterare, literally "to change, alter", from ad- and alterare, "to change, alter". aerate
1. To expose a substance to air or another gas; such as, the passing of air through a liquid substance, or the process of air entering the soil.
2. To expose to the action or effect of air or to cause air to circulate through.
3. To change or treat with air or a gas; especially, with carbon dioxide.
affectionate
alkylate
alleviate
1. To make something such as pain or hardship more bearable or less severe.
2. To make easier to endure; to lessen; to mitigate: "to alleviate sorrow"; "to alleviate pain".
3. From Late Latin alleviatus, past participle of alleviare "to lighten", from Latin ad-, "to" plus levis, "light (in weight)".
allocate
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