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self-abasement

American  
[self-uh-beys-muhnt, self-] / ˈsɛlf əˈbeɪs mənt, ˌsɛlf- /

noun

  1. humiliation of oneself, especially as a result of guilt, shame, or the like.


Etymology

Origin of self-abasement

First recorded in 1650–60

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.

Strong, as we know from his portrayal of Kendall Roy on “Succession,” has a talent for self-abasement.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2024

For the spiritually vigilant, this process requires authentic humility, a quality described by the medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides as the middle path between pride and shiflut, or "self-abasement."

From Salon • Sep. 15, 2021

Greenwell’s narrator is a poet of self-abasement, keenly attuned to the notion of size, of taking up too much space, and its centrality to queer experience.

From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2020

It can also take him down rabbit holes of grotesquerie and self-abasement, as in I’m Still Here, the faux-documentary he made with Casey Affleck documenting his own fictional mental breakdown.

From Slate • Oct. 3, 2019

There—and note the nice rising tricolon at the very outset— you can see a precise shaping of the speaker’s relationship with the audience, and a fastidious, slightly bogus, self-abasement.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith