abase
Americanverb (used with object)
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abases,
present (3rd person singular)
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abased,
past participle, past
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abasing
present participle
verb
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to humble or belittle (oneself, etc)
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to lower or reduce, as in rank or estimation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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abasesimple
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abasessimple
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have abasedperfect
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has abasedperfect
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am abasingprogressive
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are abasingprogressive
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is abasingprogressive
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have been abasingperfect progressive
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has been abasingperfect progressive
Past
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abasedsimple
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had abasedperfect
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was abasingprogressive
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were abasingprogressive
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had been abasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abase
First recorded in 1470–80; a- 5 + base 2; replacing late Middle English abassen, equivalent to a- 5 + bas base 2; replacing Middle English abaissen, abe(i)sen, from Anglo-French abesser, abaisser, Old French abaissier, equivalent to a- a- 5 + -baissier, from (unattested) Vulgar Latin bassiare, verbal derivative of Late Latin bassus; base 2
Explanation
To abase something or someone is to humiliate them — no, more than just humiliate them. If you abase another person you are bringing them low, humbling them in a mean, base manner. Not nice at all. Abase means to bring someone down, often either in their job or their self-esteem. The early Latin bassus, which meant "thick, low," evolved into the Old French abaissier, meaning "to make lower in value or status." The important clue to the word is "base." Consider that the base of anything is the bottom, and you get an idea as to the meaning of the word abase, which means to make someone feel low.
Vocabulary lists containing abase
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Song of Myself
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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.
See Examples For:
Why do you need to abase and demean me?
From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2018
More than that, he’s willing to abase himself in extraordinary ways.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2018
They were happy to express grief and condolence, and willing to abase themselves in general terms for their unworthiness.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 24, 2017
You do not have to abase yourself any further.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2017
And yet when he says, “I am from outer space,” some of you actually shut your eyes, abase your intellects, and believe!
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
I find myself captivated by how easily he abases himself without getting maudlin.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2024
Russian law says inmates must not be treated in a way that is "harsh" or "abases human dignity".
From Reuters ● Oct. 6, 2021
Russian law says inmates must not be treated in a way that is "harsh" or "abases human dignity."
From Reuters ● Oct. 5, 2021
The emperor was full blithe at this embassy and gladly has he promised them his daughter; for he in no wise abases himself by so doing and abates not one jot of his dignity.
From Cliges; a romance by Laetitia Jane Gardiner
He abases himself before his foe, and cries for mercy, although he cannot speak.
From French Mediaeval Romances from the Lays of Marie de France by Marie de France
Much of the classical music industry has since abased itself at Mäkelä’s feet.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
I hadn’t abased myself, on my knees, scrubbing toilets at the level and in constant sight of my drill instructor’s crotch just to join a club.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 18, 2018
He so thoroughly abased himself that he literally ate the excrement of a patrolman’s steed.
From Slate ● Feb. 5, 2018
In short, the movie feels, if not exactly glamorous, then simultaneously overly processed and overwrought, even when it’s wallowing in the most abased behavior.
From Washington Post ● May 19, 2016
He had admired her, and kissed her, and quite often during their engagement had abased himself at her feet.
From The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim
Many people come to the politically incorrect boards of 4chan and 8chan from video-game communities, where players looking to laugh at an abasing joke or chat about violent games without offending anyone can find friends.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2019
How easily she could picture Oliver abasing himself before this girl by talking about that little out-of-the-way shop, how he’d known the owner for thirty years since his days as a foreign correspondent.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 20, 2018
Twenty-two years earlier, he had saved his career by addressing a supposed scandal with his nationally broadcast “Checkers speech,” which was mawkish, abasing and effective.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 1, 2016
Mercedes-Benz makes a lovely B-class electric car based on Tesla technology; but it has, as yet, no real stick in the EV ground beyond abasing itself to California clean-air authorities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2015
The result was tangible, but he had paid for it with the most abasing quarter-hour of his life, and Shelby, too, craved another atmosphere.
From The Henchman by Mark Lee Luther
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.
