abash
[ uh-bash ]
/ əˈbæʃ /
verb (used with object)
to destroy the self-confidence, poise, or self-possession of; disconcert; make ashamed or embarrassed: to abash someone by sneering.
QUIZZES
BECOME A PRO CHEF WITH THIS EXQUISITE CUISINE QUIZ!
Even if you can't be a professional chef, you can at least talk like one with this vocabulary quiz.
Question 1 of 9
You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
Origin of abash
1275–1325; Middle English abaishen<dialectal Old French abacher,Old French abaissier to put down, bring low (see abase), perhaps conflated with Anglo-French abaiss-, long stem of abair,Old French esba(h)ir to gape, marvel, amaze (es-ex-1 + -ba(h)ir, alteration of baer to open wide, gape <Vulgar Latin *batāre;cf. bay2, bay3)
OTHER WORDS FROM abash
a·bash·ment, nounWords nearby abash
Abariringa Island, abarognosis, à bas, abase, abased, abash, abashed, abasia, abasia-astasia, abasia trepidans, abate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for abash
British Dictionary definitions for abash
abash
/ (əˈbæʃ) /
verb
(tr; usually passive) to cause to feel ill at ease, embarrassed, or confused; make ashamed
Derived forms of abash
abashment, nounWord Origin for abash
C14: via Norman French from Old French esbair to be astonished, from es- out + bair to gape, yawn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012