abash
/əˈbaʃ
/verb [with object] (usually as adjective abashed)
Make (someone) feel embarrassed, disconcerted, or ashamed: Harriet looked slightly abashed...
- I was too abashed, too embarrassed that I had actually asked something like that!
- Katherine was slightly abashed at his forwardness and lingered outside of the house, not really wanting to go in.
- She was somewhat abashed when I pointed out that I had already done so in 1997!
Synonyms
embarrassed, ashamed, shamefaced, remorseful, mortified, conscience-stricken, humiliated, humbled, taken aback, disconcerted, nonplussed, discomfited, discomposed, distressed, chagrined, perturbed, confounded, dismayed, dumbfounded, crestfallen, sheepish, red-faced, blushing, confused, put out of countenance, discountenanced, with one's tail between one's legs
informal floored
Derivatives
abashment
/ noun ...- He tells that story, without abashment, with pride almost, but then being who he is he can get away with it.
- Her cheeks growing red, she looked to Adam, and brushing aside her own abashment, revealed, ‘We've heard all about your recent adventures, and my, my, have you two ever been busy!’
- Lorelei looked down onto her hands in abashment.
Origin
Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French abaiss-; compare with Old French esbaiss-, lengthened stem of esbair, from es- 'utterly' + bair 'astound'.