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   absorb

   /əbˈzɔːb/

   verb

   • 1. take in or soak up (energy or a liquid or other substance) by chemical or physical action: "buildings can be designed to absorb and retain heat" Similar soak upsuck updraw up/intake up/inblot upmop upsponge upsop upOpposite exudegive out
   • ▪ take in and understand fully (information, ideas, or experience): "she absorbed the information in silence" Similar assimilatedigestingesttake inimbibedrink infamiliarize oneself withcomprehendgrasplearnunderstandmaster
   • ▪ take control of (a smaller or less powerful entity) and make it a part of a larger one: "the family firm was absorbed into a larger group" Similar incorporateassimilateintegrateappropriatetake insubsumeincludeco-optswallow up
   • ▪ use or take up (time or resources): "arms spending absorbs roughly two per cent of the national income" Similar use (up)consumetake upoccupywastesquandergo throughdepletedrainexhaustswallow up
   • ▪ take up and reduce the effect or intensity of (sound or an impact): "deep-pile carpets absorbed all sound of the outside world" Similar deadensoftencushionreducedecreaselessensoak upOpposite reflectincrease
   • 2. take up the attention of (someone); interest greatly: "she sat in an armchair, absorbed in a book" Similar preoccupyengrosscaptivateoccupyengagerivetgripholdinterestintrigueimmerseinvolveenthralspellbindfascinatearrestmonopolizedistractdivertentertainamuse

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Latin absorbere, from ab- ‘from’ + sorbere ‘suck in’.

   Scrabble Points: 10

   • A

     1

   • B

     3

   • S

     1

   • O

     1

   • R

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   • B

     3

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