Vocabulary Builder ABASH (uh BASH) v to make ashamed; to embarrass • Meredith felt abashed by her inability to remember her lines in the school chorus of “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” To do something without shame or embarrassment is to do it unabashedly. • Ken handed in a term paper that he had unabashedly copied from the National Enquirer. ABATE (uh BAYT) v to subside; to reduce • George spilled a pot of hot coffee on his leg. It hurt quite a bit. Then, gradually, the agony abated. • Bad weather abates when good weather begins to return. A rainstorm that does not let up continues unabated. A tax abatement is a reduction in taxes. Businesses are sometimes given tax abatements in return for building factories in places where there is a particular need for jobs. ABDICATE (AB duh kayt) v to step down from a position of power or responsibility • When King Edward VIII of England decided he would rather be married to Wallis Warfield Simpson, an American divorcée, than be king of Engl...