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Antonyms for abeyance

Grammar : Noun
Spell : uh-bey-uhns
Phonetic Transcription : əˈbeɪ əns


Definition of abeyance

Origin :
  • 1520s, from Anglo-French abeiance "suspension," also "expectation (especially in a lawsuit)," from Old French abeance "aspiration, desire," noun of condition of abeer "aspire after, gape" from à "at" (see ad-) + ba(y)er "be open," from Latin *batare "to yawn, gape" (see abash).
  • Originally in French a legal term, "condition of a person in expectation or hope of receiving property;" it turned around in English law to mean "condition of property temporarily without an owner" (1650s). Root baer is also the source of English bay (n.2) "recessed space," as in "bay window."
  • noun being inactive or suspended
Example sentences :
  • "The punishment lies in abeyance for the present," explained Hamish.
  • Extract from : « The Channings » by Mrs. Henry Wood
  • It would have been hard to bear had she not known what a triumph she held in abeyance.
  • Extract from : « A Singer from the Sea » by Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
  • The pomp and magnificence of sunset were in abeyance to-night, were laid aside.
  • Extract from : « A Spirit in Prison » by Robert Hichens
  • Perhaps they are sending Maria Angelina away to keep her in abeyance!
  • Extract from : « The Innocent Adventuress » by Mary Hastings Bradley
  • His will was in abeyance, and to her intense relief he got up and followed her.
  • Extract from : « Audrey Craven » by May Sinclair
  • That, however, was necessarily kept in abeyance during Jack's presence.
  • Extract from : « Is He Popenjoy? » by Anthony Trollope
  • So absorbed is he, that bodily pain and Sir Donald are in abeyance.
  • Extract from : « Oswald Langdon » by Carson Jay Lee
  • When a man is acting with his inclination, his will is in abeyance.
  • Extract from : « David Elginbrod » by George MacDonald
  • The subject stood in abeyance while she feasted and took thought.
  • Extract from : « The Wrong Woman » by Charles D. Stewart
  • During the growth of the teeth the sympathetic mode is held in abeyance.
  • Extract from : « Fantasia of the Unconscious » by D. H. Lawrence

Synonyms for abeyance

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019