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

How did it move from abjection’s muse to a luxury commodity so exclusive even those who make it can feel excluded from the venues by which it is distributed or performed live?

From Los Angeles Times

Her Roberta is prepared to drown in her own abjection, but Abbott’s Danny keeps throwing himself to her as a lifeline.

From Los Angeles Times

With her tragic back story revealed, the bourbon-soaked, switchblade-wielding Siren is essentially a humorless take on Audrey from “Little Shop of Horrors” though, here, you get the sense that, in her stilettoed abjection, she is Someone Who Has Sex, and must therefore become a villain.

From New York Times

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

Related Words

• bankruptcy
• debt
• deficit
• difficulty
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• lack
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• shortage
• starvation
• underdevelopment