🖖 Abide: The Word That Obeys
If you ABIDE, then you: A) abandon; B) tolerate; C) abridge; D) resist. Find the answer inside. 👉
Most people know “abide by the rules.” But fewer realize that abide can also mean “to tolerate.”
The two meanings are related, but not identical. If you abide by a rule, agreement, or decision, you accept it and act according to it. If you abide something (no preposition), you put up with it, you tolerate it, though you don’t enjoy doing so.
Notice that the preposition matters:
abide by the rules = follow the rules
cannot abide dishonesty = cannot tolerate dishonesty
The second use sounds a little dated or literary today, which may be why it carries extra force. “I don’t like him laughing so loud” sounds mildly annoyed. “I cannot abide his loud laughing” sounds as though someone may soon be asked to watch his videos in another room.
📚️ Definition of Abide
Abide (verb): to put up with something or somebody unpleasant; tolerate. to comply with: Marissa abided by her mother’s wishes.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Abide
IPA: ə.baɪd (See IPA key)
Phonetic: uh-BIDE
📰 Examples of Abide
Here are some examples of the word Abide:
Parents generally expect their children to abide by their rules, but also know that they need to flexible with those rules.
So, Marlene cannot abide a phone at her table anytime, much less at the Thanksgiving table. Trish tested the rule last year, hiding a phone under the tablecloth. Of course, Marlene noticed and simply picked up Trish’s plate — the stuffing, the candied yams, the fork, all of it — and carried it back to the kitchen. In Marlene’s house, you learn the rules or you end up eating in the hallway.
I believe they went to the trouble of putting an extra amount of garlic into our food; and I can’t abide garlic. — Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897)
🗣️ Common Collocations of Abide
A collocation is a group of words often found together in usage, for example figment of one’s imagination, extenuating circumstances, or inclement weather.
abide by the rules
can't abide
abide by a decision
abide by the law
willing to abide
Quiz answer: B.