MEANING
To help, encourage, or assist someone in committing a wrongdoing, often deliberately or secretly.
Use it for
Help or encourage an offense, especially behind the scenes.Show a character deliberately enabling another person’s misconduct.
Words that belong together
- abet a crime
- abet wrongdoing
- aid and abet
On the page
The clerk was charged with abetting the fraud by hiding the original records.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- abet
- Past tense
- abetted
- Past participle
- abetted
- Present participle
- abetting
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- abet
- Present continuous
- am/is/are abetting
- Present perfect
- have/has abetted
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been abetting
- Past
- abetted
- Past continuous
- was/were abetting
- Past perfect
- had abetted
- Past perfect continuous
- had been abetting
- Future
- will abet
- Future continuous
- will be abetting
- Future perfect
- will have abetted
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been abetting
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Often appears in legal or formal contexts with “in”; it implies support for an improper act, not neutral help.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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