abject
Americanadjective
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utterly wretched or hopeless
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miserable; forlorn; dejected
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indicating humiliation; submissive
an abject apology
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contemptible; despicable; servile
an abject liar
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of abject
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin abjectus thrown down (past participle of abicere, abjicere ), equivalent to ab- ab- + -jec- throw + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
If it reeks of humiliation or looks like the lowest of lows, then you can safely describe it as abject. The pronunciation of abject is up for debate: you can decide whether to stress the first or the second syllable. But what's more important is understanding how extreme this adjective is. Abject means absolutely miserable, the most unfortunate, with utter humiliation. You might have heard the phrase abject poverty, which is the absolute worst, most hopeless level of poverty you've ever seen.
Vocabulary lists containing abject
100 SAT Words Beginning with "A"
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300 Most Difficult "SAT" Words
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Grade 12, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Emery has needed a way with words at times, refusing to lay into his players at half-time during the abject defeat by Tottenham at the start of the month.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
INDIANAPOLIS—When Dusty May took over as Michigan’s basketball coach in 2024, he was stepping into an abject disaster.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
"He lived in abject poverty. His home had been destroyed," his son, Wilson Maina Kiambati, told AFP.
From Barron's • Feb. 14, 2026
Mr. Leon’s staging and Ms. DiDonato’s performance built a compelling arc: The real Christmas miracle is not Amahl’s sudden cure, but the transformation of the Mother’s abject despair into hope.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
The new machine, like so many of Ernest’s ideas before it, was perched on the edge of technical plausibility, offering the prospect of limitless triumph or abject failure.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
