abash

[uh-bash]

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verb (used with object)

to destroy the self-confidence, poise, or self-possession of; disconcert; make ashamed or embarrassed: to abash someone by sneering.

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)

Related formsa·bash·ment, noun

Synonyms for abash

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shame, discompose, embarrass.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for abash

rattle, disconcert

Examples from the Web for abash

Historical Examples of abash

It would have been useless; nothing could alter or abash her inherent unmorality.
Olive in Italy
Moray Dalton
“She striveth alway to abash (frighten) and trouble me,” sighed Maude.
The White Rose of Langley
Emily Sarah Holt
It is impossible to outface Milton, or to abash him with praise.
Milton
Sir Walter Alexander Raleigh
"Nothing in the world can abash me now," I thought as I wandered carelessly about the salon.
Childhood
Leo Tolstoy
The presence of the strangers did not abash her in the least.
Jack
Alphonse Daudet

British Dictionary definitions for abash

abash

verb

(tr; usually passive) to cause to feel ill at ease, embarrassed, or confused; make ashamed

Derived Formsabashment, noun

Word 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

Word Origin and History for abash

"perplex, embarrass," early 15c., earlier "lose one's composure, be upset" (late 14c.), from Old French esbaiss-, present stem of esbaer "gape with astonishment," from es "out" (see ex-) + ba(y)er "to be open, gape," from Latin *batare "to yawn, gape," from root *bat, possibly imitative of yawning. Related: Abashed; abashing. Bashful is a 16c. derivative.