Verb

To include so that it no longer has separate existence; to overwhelm; to cause to disappear as if by swallowing up; to incorporate; to assimilate; to take in and use up.

* (rfdate) :

Dark oblivion soon absorbs them all.

* (rfdate) :

The large cities absorb the wealth and fashion.

(obsolete) To engulf, as in water; to swallow up.

*

To suck up; to drink in; to imbibe; as a sponge or as the lacteals of the body; to chemically take in.

(transitive, physics, chemistry) To take in energy and convert it, as

# (physics) in receiving a physical impact or vibration without recoil.

# (physics) in receiving sound energy without repercussion or echo.

# (physics) taking in radiant energy and converting it to a different form of energy, like heat.

Heat, light, and electricity are absorbed in the substances into which they pass.

To engross or engage wholly; to occupy fully; as, absorbed in study or in the pursuit of wealth.

To occupy or consume time.

Assimilate mentally.

(business) To assume or pay for as part of a commercial transaction.

To defray the costs.

To accept or purchase in quantity.

Verb

(captivat)

To attract and hold interest and attention of; charm.

* Washington Irving

small landscapes of captivating loveliness

*, chapter=3

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.”  He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.}}

(obsolete) To take prisoner; to capture; to subdue.

* Shakespeare

Their woes whom fortune captivates .

* Glanvill

'Tis a greater credit to know the ways of captivating Nature, and making her subserve our purposes, than to have learned all the intrigues of policy.