abject
[ ab-jekt, ab-jekt ]
/ ˈæb dʒɛkt, æbˈdʒɛkt /
adjective
utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched: abject poverty.
contemptible; despicable; base-spirited: an abject coward.
shamelessly servile; slavish.
Obsolete. cast aside.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
abirritation, abirritative, abishag, abitibi, abiu, abject, abjection, abjective, abjectly, abjunction, abjuration
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
SYNONYMS FOR abject
Related forms
Can be confused
abject objectDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for abjectly
British Dictionary definitions for abjectly
abject
/ (ˈæbdʒɛkt) /
adjective
utterly wretched or hopeless
miserable; forlorn; dejected
indicating humiliation; submissivean abject apology
contemptible; despicable; servilean abject liar
Derived Forms
abjection, nounabjectly, adverbabjectness, nounWord Origin for abject
C14: (in the sense: rejected, cast out): from Latin abjectus thrown or cast away, from abjicere, from ab- away + jacere to throw
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