Absorb
[əb'zɔːb;-'sɔːb] or [əb'zɔb]
Definition
(verb.) cause to become one with; 'The sales tax is absorbed into the state income tax'.
(verb.) consume all of one's attention or time; 'Her interest in butterflies absorbs her completely'.
(verb.) take up mentally; 'he absorbed the knowledge or beliefs of his tribe'.
(verb.) take in, also metaphorically; 'The sponge absorbs water well'; 'She drew strength from the minister's words'.
(verb.) become imbued; 'The liquids, light, and gases absorb'.
(verb.) take up, as of debts or payments; 'absorb the costs for something'.
(verb.) suck or take up or in; 'A black star absorbs all matter'.
(verb.) assimilate or take in; 'The immigrants were quickly absorbed into society'.
Checked by Claudia--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To swallow up; to engulf; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to use up; to include.
(v. t.) To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe; as a sponge or as the lacteals of the body.
(v. t.) To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully; as, absorbed in study or the pursuit of wealth.
(v. t.) To take up by cohesive, chemical, or any molecular action, as when charcoal absorbs gases. So heat, light, and electricity are absorbed or taken up in the substances into which they pass.
Checker: Reginald
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Imbibe, take in, take up, suck in, suck up, drink in.[2]. Consume, exhaust, destroy, engorge, devour, engulf, swallow up.[3]. Engross, engage, immerse, occupy, arrest, fix, rivet.
Checker: Presley
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Swallow, drown, consume, imbibe, engross, drink_in, suck_up, engulf,monopolize, exhaust
ANT:Eject, emit, exude, disgorge, dissipate, distract, distil, disperse
Checked by Gilbert
Definition
v.t. to suck in: to swallow up: to engage wholly.—n. Absorbabil′ity.—adj. Absorb′able that may be absorbed.—p.adj. Absorbed′ swallowed up: entirely occupied.—advs. Absorb′edly Absorb′ingly.—adj. Absorb′ent imbibing: swallowing.—n. that which absorbs.—n. Absorp′tion the act of absorbing: entire occupation of mind.—adj. Absorp′tive having power to absorb.—n. Absorptiv′ity.
Typed by Ethan
Examples
- Robert, being the youngest, and having less of the past to absorb him than his comrade, recommenced first. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Stained-glass windows owe their charm and beauty to the presence in the glass of various dyes and pigments which absorb in different amounts some colors from white light and transmit others. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Quite other feelings absorb his reflections and govern his faculties. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Coal and tar and soot are good illustrations of objects which absorb all the light which falls upon them. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The method of purifying by lime was introduced by Mr. Clegg; and by a later process, oxide of iron is used to absorb the sulphuretted hydrogen. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- To make that material available, it is necessary to coat it with some substance that will absorb the sensitive solution. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- Is your profession really so engaging and interesting as to absorb your whole attention? Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- As to that little man himself, his whole attention had become absorbed in getting near the door and looking out at it. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- They seem to have been overrun and the population absorbed by the conquerors. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Then, as the creature's legs appear and its tail is absorbed, it begins to use its lungs, and its gills dwindle and vanish. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- From that time until July, 1878, his time and attention day and night were almost completely absorbed by the excitement caused by the invention and exhibition of the machine. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- We left her, on a low chair, at one side of the instrument, so absorbed over her reading that she did not seem to notice when we moved. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Presently his wife looked up from her sewing, and noticed how much absorbed he was. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- I hoped he would feel this, but, for the moment, he seemed too much absorbed to be sensible of the change. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Having first seen him perfectly swallowed up in admiration of Mrs. Jellyby, I had supposed her to be the absorbing object of his devotion. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- The ladies were not really interested in Mrs. Struthers just then; the subject of Ellen Olenska was too fresh and too absorbing to them. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- Its hoary traditions make it an object of absorbing interest to even the most careless stranger, and thus far it had interest for me; but no further. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- It is this same shock-absorbing device which is used to catch the recoil on the immense siege guns used in modern warfare. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Her fear had been too deep, too absorbing, too entire, to be changed to security. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Mr. Helstone neither had, nor professed to have, Mr. Yorke's absorbing passion for her. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- But Bell had been giving so much time and attention to this absorbing project that his teaching had suffered. Rupert S. Holland. Historic Inventions.
- The State is all-sufficing for the wants of man, and, like the idea of the Church in later ages, absorbs all other desires and affections. Plato. The Republic.
- A more scientific statement, however, is that the cold vapor absorbs the heat units of the water, and taking them away with it, lowers the temperature of the water to the freezing point. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- If magenta is replaced by other artificial dyes,--for example, scarlets,--the result is similar; in general, wool material absorbs dye readily, and uniting with it is permanently dyed. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- The sea is a vast reservoir of potash, and seaweed, especially the giant kelp, absorbs large quantities of this potash. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- So rare is the atmosphere of Mars that it absorbs very little heat from the sun. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- An individual becomes rational only as he absorbs into himself the content of rationality in nature and in social institutions. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- The decaying vegetable matter which covers the forest floor acts more or less as a sponge, and quickly absorbs falling rain and melting snow. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
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