abase
verb
ə-ˈbās 
abased; abasing
transitive verb
1
formal : to lower in rank, office, prestige, or esteem
abase oneself
… the shame that had abased him within and without …
James Joyce
James Joyce2
archaic : to lower physically
As we enter among them the great elephant makes us a bow in the best style of elephantine courtesy, bending lowly down his mountain bulk, with trunk abased and leg thrust out behind. Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne abasement
ə-ˈbās-mənt
noun 
Synonyms
- bastardize
- canker
- cheapen
- corrupt
- debase
- debauch
- degrade
- demean
- demoralize
- deprave
- deteriorate
- lessen
- pervert
- poison
- profane
- prostitute
- subvert
- vitiate
- warp
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Unfortunately, an impulse to abase oneself isn’t resolved by a recognition that human life is a collaboration. Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021 One by one, internees abase themselves before 60 of their fellow prisoners, repenting of their errors in thinking and their nonprogressive religious practices. James E. Person Jr., National Review, 17 Sep. 2020 By the end of the weekend, the entire NBA was in damage-control mode, profusely and absurdly abasing themselves. Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 7 Oct. 2019 Only fearful, humiliated ex-Trumpers in need of campaign support, like Jeff Sessions, who is again running for the Senate in Alabama, abase themselves and speak of his virtue. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2019 Judging from Capitol Hill’s self-abasing deference to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, the answer is no. William Mcgurn, WSJ, 24 July 2017 Consequently, the hero must be either venerated and elevated or cynically scorned and abased. Elliot Kaufman, National Review, 19 July 2017 See More
Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021 One by one, internees abase themselves before 60 of their fellow prisoners, repenting of their errors in thinking and their nonprogressive religious practices. James E. Person Jr., National Review, 17 Sep. 2020 By the end of the weekend, the entire NBA was in damage-control mode, profusely and absurdly abasing themselves. Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 7 Oct. 2019 Only fearful, humiliated ex-Trumpers in need of campaign support, like Jeff Sessions, who is again running for the Senate in Alabama, abase themselves and speak of his virtue. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2019 Judging from Capitol Hill’s self-abasing deference to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, the answer is no. William Mcgurn, WSJ, 24 July 2017 Consequently, the hero must be either venerated and elevated or cynically scorned and abased. Elliot Kaufman, National Review, 19 July 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
alteration (conformed to base entry 3) of Middle English abessen, abaisen, abaschen, borrowed from Anglo-French abesser, abaisser, from a-, prefix in transitive verbs (going back to Latin ad-) + -besser, going back to Vulgar Latin *bassiāre "to lower," derivative of Late Latin bassus "fat, short, low" — more at ad-, base entry 3
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Phrases Containing abase
abasement
noun
as in humiliation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- humiliation
- debasement
- dismissal
- firing
- sacking
- layoff
- demotion
- disrating
- downgrade
- reduction
- bump