ABSORB • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Absorb

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/əbzˈɔrb/ Listen

verb

Absorb v. t. (past & past part. absorbed; pres. part. absorbing)

1.

To swallow up; to engulf; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to use up; to include. "Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all." "The large cities absorb the wealth and fashion."

2.

To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe; as a sponge or as the lacteals of the body.

3.

To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully; as, absorbed in study or the pursuit of wealth.

4.

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.

Synonyms: To Absorb, Engross, Swallow up, Engulf. 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." "Too long hath love engrossed Britannia's stage, And sunk to softness all our tragic rage." "Should not the sad occasion swallow up My other cares?" "And in destruction's river Engulf and swallow those."

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Etymology of 'Absorb'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Absorb" Quotes from Famous Books

... treasure melt can flash through their windows, and no deeds of manly heroism or womanly patriotism are to have applause before God and Christ in the temple,—if nothing but some preexisting scheme of salvation, distinct from all living activity, must absorb the mind,—then I totally misunderstand and am quite out of my place. Then let me go. It is high time I were away. I have stayed too long already." Such should be the speech of the minister, knowing he is not tempted ...

— Atlantic Monthly, Vol. XI., February, 1863, No. LXIV. • Various

... pueblos in the Bontoc area, as in Bontoc and Samoki, is kept confined all its life in a walled, stone-paved sty dug in the earth (see Pl. LXXVII). Into this inclosure dry grasses and dead vines are continually placed to absorb and become rotted by the liquids. As the soil of the sementera is turned for the new rice crop these pigsties are cleaned out and the rich ...

— The Bontoc Igorot • Albert Ernest Jenks

... alike? When the play opens, both are mourning the loss of a brother, and while this is made to point out the individuality of Olivia, after the first few lines we hear little more of Viola's grief. Can you suggest any reason for this? Does Viola's love for the Duke absorb her any more than Olivia's love absorbs her when she comes to feel the same? Viola and Olivia are also alike in giving their love without solicitation; but Olivia woos directly, Viola, in disguise, implies her love, and though her innuendoes are all understood ...

— Shakespeare Study Programs; The Comedies • Charlotte Porter and Helen A. Clarke

... than the particles which they can swallow are left in it. They mingle the whole intimately together, like a gardener who prepares fine soil for his choicest plants. In this state it is well fitted to retain moisture and to absorb all soluble substances, as well as for the process of nitrification. The bones of dead animals, the harder parts of insects, the shells of land- molluscs, leaves, twigs, &c., are before long all buried beneath the accumulated castings of worms, and are thus brought in a more or less decayed ...

— The Formation of Vegetable Mould through the action of worms with • Charles Darwin

... understand that Socialists do not expect to absolutely control all personal activity but would leave all persons free to pursue any vocation which they might desire and to have and hold whatever they may acquire by personal activity and enterprise so only that they make no profit on the work of another or absorb for their own use any gift of Nature. No Socialist that I know of has attempted to draw the exact line between activities to be wholly absorbed by the State and those which would be left to private enterprise. No wise Socialist I think—if there are wise Socialists—would attempt to draw ...

— The Inhumanity of Socialism • Edward F. Adams

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