to abase

Examples

• All

• After the criticism, she felt like she had abased herself in front of her peers.

• You must abase yourself before her.

  Spartacus (1960)

• I abase myself only before the God of my fathers.

  One Night with the King (2006)

• How long must a man abase himself and apologize?

  Blog text (11)

• - You must abase yourself in the eyes of the lord and appear truly repentant.

  Fantasm Comes Again (1977)

• "Once again, Chemayev could think of nothing to say other than to abase himself, to offer further apology.

  Fiction book (2001)

• So you see, my dear, you've abased yourself to no purpose.

  Gone with the Wind (1939)

• I turned off my reflector then, and he abased himself.

  Fiction book (2001)

• I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound.

  Blog text (9)

• We should abase ourselves before Reith; he trusted our knowledge; we showed him ineptitude. "All of us did our best," said Reith.

  Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

I

to insult

vsto abase

• Offensive

543 2.1

To say or do something rude to someone

is focused more on causing shame and loss of dignity than rude speech

H

to humiliate

vsto abase

• Offensive

414 6.1

Make someone feel very ashamed and foolish, often in front of others

is similar but can happen privately without public exposure

D

to disgrace

vsto abase

62 4.5

To make someone lose respect or honor by doing something shameful

is about causing personal humiliation rather than only bringing public shame

D

to diss

vsto abase

• Offensive

62 8.4

To speak rudely to someone to show no respect, often in public

can be more about rudeness than intentionally seeking deep humiliation

H

to humble

vsto abase

58 5.3

To make someone feel less proud or important

is harsher and aims to produce clear humiliation rather than modesty

D

to degrade

vsto abase

55 5.1

To treat someone so they feel ashamed or less respected

focuses more on making someone feel personally degraded rather than just described

D

to demean

vsto abase

53 6.8

To make someone feel less respected or important

emphasizes the personal feeling of humiliation rather than social rank loss

M

to mortify

vsto abase

22 6.9

To make someone feel very embarrassed or ashamed

is generally less intensely shaming than this term

A

to affront

vsto abase

5 7.1

To insult someone openly or show no respect

may cause humiliation but often emphasizes the act of insult itself

L

to lower oneself

vsto abase

• Informal

4 6.5

Act in a way that makes people respect you less

describes causing humiliation in someone else rather than lowering oneself

A

to abash

vsto abase

• Formal

2 8.3

To make someone feel embarrassed or shy

is stronger and intends to deeply lower the person's self respect

D

to derogate

vsto abase

1 8.4

Say or do things that make someone seem less respected

aims more at lowering the person's self respect rather than just their reputation

U

to umble

vsto abase

• Archaic

9.9

To make someone feel less important or lower in social position

targets the person's feelings more directly rather than only their status

H

to hurt pride

vsto abase

5.5

To make someone feel embarrassed and less confident

is similar but can include action that publicly lowers the person's standing

A

to attaint

vsto abase

• Archaic

9.9

To bring shame on a person or group

tends to refer to public disgrace rather than the person's private humiliation

Antonyms

U

to uplift

23 3.2

To make someone feel happier and more hopeful

How Humiliated

to humiliate

• Offensive

414 6.1

to abase

• Formal

1 8.6

to mortify

22 6.9

to embarrass

642 2.1

to abash

• Formal

2 8.3

Surface Forms

Etymology