abased

[ uh-beyst ]
See synonyms for abased on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. reduced or lowered, as in status, office, dignity, or estimation; humbled; degraded: In the hearings, the abased director of the Children’s Fund finally admitted his errors and meekly promised reforms.

  2. Heraldry. (of a charge) lower on an escutcheon than is usual: a bend abased.

noun(used with a plural verb)
  1. Usually the abased . people who have been humbled by misfortune, persecution, etc.:We entrust to God’s mercy the wretched, the desperate, and the abased.

Origin of abased

1
First recorded in 1645–55; abase + -ed2

Other words from abased

  • un·a·based, adjective

Words Nearby abased

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use abased in a sentence

  • They fall without being abased, and I regard them as being unfortunate without being liable to blame.

  • Not humbled before God, as having failed in trust towards Him; not degraded and abased in Mr. Thornton's sight.

    North and South | Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
  • But here the cedar means human grandeur and national greatness, full of arrogant pride and therefore doomed to be abased.

    The Prophet Ezekiel | Arno C. Gaebelein
  • The most sensitive of four-footed creatures in the world, the Skye terrier is utterly abased by a rebuke from his master.

    Greyfriars Bobby | Eleanor Atkinson
  • Nothing had been done, unless the situation of France were exalted in proportion as that of England had been abased.