abase

American  

[uh-bays] / əˈbeɪs /

verb (used with object)

• abases,
  present (3rd person singular)
• abased,
  past participle,  past
• abasing
  present participle

1. to reduce or lower, as in rank, office, reputation, or estimation; humble; degrade.

   Synonyms:

   belittle, debase, dishonor, humiliate

2. Archaic. to lower; put or bring down.

   He abased his head.

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abase British  

/ əˈbeɪs /

verb

1. to humble or belittle (oneself, etc)

2. to lower or reduce, as in rank or estimation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• abasement
  noun
• abaser
  noun
• unabasing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• abasing
  present
• abased
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• abase
  simple
• abases
  simple
• have abased
  perfect
• has abased
  perfect
• am abasing
  progressive
• are abasing
  progressive
• is abasing
  progressive
• have been abasing
  perfect progressive
• has been abasing
  perfect progressive

Past

• abased
  simple
• had abased
  perfect
• was abasing
  progressive
• were abasing
  progressive
• had been abasing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will abase
  simple
• will have abased
  perfect
• will be abasing
  progressive
• will have been abasing
  perfect progressive

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

abase abases abased abasing

This legal tactic—a sensible move by any defense attorney—would abase the proceedings with another cliché of human banalities: the family squabble.

From Slate ● Oct. 18, 2021

It is far more appropriate to take strength from an ultimately uplifting afternoon than abase oneself over an inconsequential refereeing call.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 5, 2018

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

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

Charles, in the Chanson de Saisnes, abases himself before Herapois, even more abjectly than Agamemnon in his offer of atonement to Achilles.

From Homer and His Age by Andrew Lang

Customs were sometimes swerved from the law, influenced as they were by the barbarity of the times, but it is not the law which abases woman.

From The Jew by Jo?zef Ignacy Kraszewski

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

"Thou shalt not yet man behold O'er thee exalted, son that thou shalt fall Upon thy knees, and there, abased, adore, With drooping eyes his lofty eminence."

From Vondel's Lucifer by Joost van den Vondel

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

Before the company, she reiterated the ballet’s gesture of amorous veneration, making her arms a halo that she drew over his head, shoulders, torso, and legs, abasing herself at his feet.

From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2017

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

Rise, Princess, and injure not your honour by thus abasing yourself before your slave.

From Eastern Tales by Many Story Tellers by L. (Laura) Valentine

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