abjection

[ ab-jek-shuhn ]

noun

1. the condition of being servile, wretched, or contemptible.
2. the act of humiliating.
3. Mycology. the release of spores by a fungus.

Word History and Origins

Origin of abjection¹

1375–1425; late Middle English abjectioun (< Middle French ) < Latin abjectiōn-, stem of abjectiō casting away, equivalent to abject ( us ) ( abject ) + -iōn- -ion; or ab- + (e)jection

Example Sentences

And he loathes what he perceives as homosexual abjection.

From Los Angeles Times

What mattered more was always the creativity and abjection with which the contestants approached his personal challenge: Prove your loyalty through self-betrayal.

From Washington Post

“It’s this whole ‘leaning into abjection’ thing we see in ‘Girls’ and ‘Fleabag’” — the television shows created by Lena Dunham and Phoebe Waller-Bridges.

From New York Times

In their seeming abjection and haphazardness they exhibited affinities with postwar Japanese photography.

From New York Times

They are in costume to play the role of pure abjection, expressing the painter’s inner state more than any genuine state of poverty in the real world.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• bankruptcy
• debt
• deficit
• difficulty
• famine
• hardship
• lack
• scarcity
• shortage
• starvation
• underdevelopment