Abate — A Vocabulary Story
The great itch that wouldn't abate
In Mr. Jacobs' clothing store, Mariana and Ksenia squealed with delight. They pulled on matching bright yellow jumpers. But then, an awful itch started. "I'm so itchy!" cried Mariana.
The furious scratching would not abate. Fisherman Noah Rogers, trying on a blue jumper, also started wiggling. "Argh! This itch won't abate! It's worse than barnacles!" he bellowed.
Mr. Jacobs panicked. The frantic itching in his shop needed to abate, but nothing worked. His worry did not abate as more customers complained. He had to make this terrible itch abate.
"My reputation!" he whispered. His stress would not abate.
Suddenly, Mr. Jacobs, a master tailor, inspected a jumper's fibres. "Aha!" he declared. "The itch will abate, which means to become less intense, once I treat this raw wool!"
He gathered the itchy jumpers. He used his special steamer in the back room. His frantic work rate did not abate until every jumper was softened. He returned with a treated yellow jumper.
Mariana put it on carefully. A smile spread across her face. "The itch is starting to abate!" she cheered. Soon, it was gone completely.
"See," said Mr. Jacobs proudly. "My process made the itchiness abate. It helped the problem lessen and reduce." The crisis had finally abated, and so had his panic.
Word Definition
abate
meaning
to become less intense, less widespread, or weaker in degree
synonyms
diminish · decrease · subside · dwindle · slacken
antonyms
increase · intensify · amplify
example sentence
The storm finally began to abate after several hours of heavy rain.