Abatable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈbeɪt.ə.bəl/

Definitions

1. Liable to being lessened, reduced, or mitigated in degree, especially in contexts like law or regulations
2. Subject to decrease or diminishment, particularly regarding impact or severity in specific instances
3. Able to be diminished or lowered in amount, intensity, or degree according to circumstance

Etymology: "Abatable" is simply "abate" with the suffix "-able" attached, meaning capable of being abated, lessened, or reduced. The suffix has a longer pedigree than the verb it sits on. It descends from a Proto-Indo-European element and passed through Proto-Italic and Latin forms such as "-bilis" and "-ābilis", which meant "able to be" something, before reaching English through Old French as "-able" in Middle English. The verb "abate" is the more interesting piece. It comes from Old French "abattre", "to beat down", and so it began life as a physical image of knocking something to the ground before it came to describe lowering a price, easing a pain, or calming a storm. "Abatable" therefore carries that sense of something that can be knocked down, though in modern use it is mostly applied to nuisances, taxes, and similar things that can be made smaller.

Synonyms: removable, diminishable, modifiable, reducible, lessen-able

Antonyms: unremovable, permanent, unchangeable, fixed, constant