absorb
absorb is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses, and appears in Roget's Thesaurus (1911) with 40 related terms. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.
Definitions
- 1.To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe; as a sponge or as the lacteals of the body. Bacon.
- 2.To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully; as, absorbed in study or the pursuit of wealth.
- 3.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. Nichol. p. 8 These words agree in one general idea, that of completely taking up. They are chiefly used in a figurative sense and may be distinguished by a reference to their etymology. We speak of a person as absorbed (lit., drawn in, swallowed up) in study or some other employment of the highest interest. We speak of a person as ebgrossed (lit., seized upon in the gross, or wholly) by something which occupies his whole time and thoughts, as the acquisition of wealth, or the attainment of honor. We speak of a person (under a stronger image) as swallowed up and lost in that which completely occupies his thoughts and feelings, as in grief at the death of a friend, or in the multiplied cares of life. We speak of a person as engulfed in that which (like a gulf) takes in all his hopes and interests; as, engulfed in misery, ruin, etc. That grave question which had begun to absorb the Christian mind -- the marriage of the clergy. Milman. Too long hath love engrossed Britannia's stage, And sunk to softness all our tragic rage. Tickell. Should not the sad occasion swallow up My other cares Addison. And in destruction's river Engulf and swallow those. Sir P. Sidney.
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Synonyms
Synonyms (Webster's 1913)
Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
Related terms (Roget's 1911)
- absorption
- alloy
- amalgam
- amalgamate
- amalgamation
- blend
- blending
- cement
- centralization
- centralize
- coalesce
- coalescence
- combination
- combine
- combined
- composition
- compound
- consolidate
- crasis
- embodiment
- embody
- fuse
- fusion
- impregnate
- impregnation
- incorporate
- incorporation
- into
- junction
- lump
- marry
- melt
- merge
- mixture
- one
- put
- quid
- reembody
- resultant
- synthesis
Source: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
Related questions
Reverse-dictionary questions
Definition-first questions whose answer is absorb.
Sources
- Definitions: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
- Synonyms & antonyms: Roget's Thesaurus, 1911 edition (public domain, via Project Gutenberg eBook #10681).
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