Learn Arabic › B1 › عَبِث
عَبِث
to tamper, to fiddle, to mess around (with) /ʕa.ˈbi.θa/
verbB1#1548 most common
Also: to play around, to toy with, to meddle, to act in vain
Example sentences
الطِّفْلُ يَعْبَثُ بِالأَزْرارِ.
The child is fiddling with the buttons.
لا تَعْبَثْ بِأَغْراضي.
Do not mess with my things.
عَبِثَ القِطُّ بِالخُيوطِ طَوالَ الصَّباحِ.
The cat played with the threads all morning.
يَبْدو أَنَّ أَحَدَهُمْ عَبِثَ بِالقُفْلِ.
It seems someone tampered with the lock.
حَذَّرَتِ السُّلُطاتُ مِنَ العَبَثِ بِالأَدِلَّةِ، فَمَنْ عَبِثَ بِها يُعاقَبُ.
The authorities warned against tampering with the evidence; whoever tampers with it will be punished.
لا تَعْبَثْ بِما لا تَفْهَمُهُ، فَالعَبَثُ بِالأَنْظِمَةِ المُعَقَّدَةِ قَدْ يُؤَدّي إلى عَواقِبَ وَخيمَةٍ.
Do not tamper with what you do not understand; meddling with complex systems can lead to dire consequences.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أَعْبَثُ | عَبِثْتُ | سَأَعْبَثُ |
| 2sg | تَعْبَثُ | عَبِثْتَ | سَتَعْبَثُ |
| 3sg | يَعْبَثُ | عَبِثَ | سَيَعْبَثُ |
| 1pl | نَعْبَثُ | عَبِثْنا | سَنَعْبَثُ |
| 2pl | تَعْبَثونَ | عَبِثْتُمْ | سَتَعْبَثونَ |
| 3pl | يَعْبَثونَ | عَبِثوا | سَيَعْبَثونَ |
Word family
عَبَثfutility, absurdity, idle play
عابِثfrivolous, one who trifles
عَبَثِيّabsurd, futile
عَبَثِيَّةabsurdism, absurdity
عَبَثًاin vain, for nothing
Etymology
The verb comes from the Semitic triliteral root ع-ب-ث (ʿ-b-th). The core idea links two senses: idle play and futile, pointless action. The related noun عَبَث means futility or absurdity, which is why the verb often carries a shade of meddling without real purpose.
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