Abide

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈbaɪd/

Definitions

1. To tolerate or accept something, or to remain in a place or state for a period of time
2. To accept or endure something difficult while remaining in a specific place or situation for a certain time
3. To stay or continue in a particular condition, place, or situation; to comply with rules or instructions; to withstand or endure hardship or adversity

Etymology: Old English "ābīdan" meant far more than staying put. It could mean to wait, remain, delay, survive, or await, and it carried a sense of expecting something. Its roots lie in the Germanic idea of "bide," to wait or stay, with the prefix "a-" intensifying it, so to abide was to wait out a situation rather than simply tolerate it. The modern sense of putting up with something grew out of that waiting. Someone who abides an unpleasant situation has stayed through it, which is why "abide" can mean endure, tolerate, or bear. That is the move from waiting to enduring. Abide also has a surprising relative in "aby," an older verb meaning to pay the penalty for something. The "pay for" sense of abide, as in having to abide the consequences, is due to influence from that word, so two unrelated verbs have merged in one spelling.

Synonyms: tolerate, endure, accept, withstand, bear

Antonyms: reject, disallow, refuse, disregard, oppose