Absorbed

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Absorb \Ab*sorb"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Absorbed}; p. pr. & vb.
     n. {Absorbing}.] [L. absorbere; ab + sorbere to suck in, akin
     to Gr. ?: cf. F. absorber.]
     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." --Cowper.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              The large cities absorb the wealth and fashion. --W.
                                                    Irving.
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     2. To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe; as a sponge or as the
        lacteals of the body. --Bacon.
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     3. To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully; as, absorbed
        in study or the pursuit of wealth.
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     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. --Nichol.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: To {Absorb}, {Engross}, {Swallow up}, {Engulf}.
  
     Usage: 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.
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                  That grave question which had begun to absorb
                  the Christian mind -- the marriage of the
                  clergy.                           --Milman.
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                  Too long hath love engrossed Britannia's stage,
                  And sunk to softness all our tragic rage.
                                                    --Tickell.
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                  Should not the sad occasion swallow up
                  My other cares?                   --Addison.
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                  And in destruction's river
                  Engulf and swallow those.         --Sir P.
                                                    Sidney.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  absorbed \absorbed\ adj.
     1. 1 wholly absorbed as in thought that engrossed look --
        that absorbed and rapt delight
  
     Syn: engrossed, intent, rapt, wrapped
          [WordNet 1.5]
  
     2. not allowed to pass through; -- said of radiant waves such
        as light the absorbed light intensity
        [WordNet 1.5]
  
     3. taken in through the pores of a surface the absorbed water
        expanded the sponge
        [WordNet 1.5]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  absorbed
       adj 1: wholly absorbed as in thought; "deep in thought"; "that
              engrossed look or rapt delight"; "the book had her
              totally engrossed"; "enwrapped in dreams"; "so intent
              on this fantastic...narrative that she hardly
              stirred"- Walter de la Mare; "rapt with wonder";
              "wrapped in thought" [syn: {engrossed}, {enwrapped}, {intent},
               {rapt}, {wrapped}]
       2: retained without reflection; "the absorbed light intensity"
       3: taken in through the pores of a surface; "the absorbed water
          expanded the sponge"

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  83 Moby Thesaurus words for "absorbed":
     absent, absentminded, absorbed in, abstracted, bemused, buried,
     buried in, buried in thought, castle-building, caught up in,
     concentrating, contemplating, contemplative, daydreaming,
     daydreamy, deep, devoted, devoted to, dreaming, dreamy, drowsing,
     ecstatic, elsewhere, engaged, engaged in thought, engrossed,
     engrossed in, engrossed in thought, enmeshed in, entangled in,
     far-gone, faraway, half-awake, immersed, immersed in,
     immersed in thought, implicated in, in a reverie, in the clouds,
     intent, intent on, introspective, involved, involved in, lost,
     lost in, lost in thought, meditating, meditative, monomaniacal,
     monopolized, mooning, moonraking, museful, musing, napping,
     nodding, oblivious, obsessed, occupied, pensive, pipe-dreaming,
     preoccupied, rapt, single-minded, somewhere else, stargazing,
     studious, studying, submerged in, swept up, taken up,
     taken up with, tied up in, totally absorbed, transported,
     unconscious, woolgathering, wrapped, wrapped in,
     wrapped in thought, wrapped up, wrapped up in