abash
[uh-bash]
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)
Synonyms for abash
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
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 ItalyMoray Dalton
“She striveth alway to abash (frighten) and trouble me,” sighed Maude.
The White Rose of LangleyEmily Sarah Holt
It is impossible to outface Milton, or to abash him with praise.
MiltonSir Walter Alexander Raleigh
"Nothing in the world can abash me now," I thought as I wandered carelessly about the salon.
ChildhoodLeo Tolstoy
The presence of the strangers did not abash her in the least.
JackAlphonse Daudet
abash
verb
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
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper