Nearby Words

abashed

[uh-basht] Example Sentences Origin

a·bashed

[uh-basht]
adjective
ashamed or embarrassed; disconcerted: My clumsiness left me abashed.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English; see abash, -ed2

a·bash·ed·ly [uh-bash-id-lee] , adverb
a·bash·ed·ness, noun
un·a·bashed, adjective

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Abashed is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Example Sentences
  • Even the police seem a bit abashed by the whole thing.
  • The abashed worker returned the traditional gesture.
  • My guest ate heartily but seemed abashed and defensive.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

a·bash

[uh-bash]
verb (used with object)
to destroy the self-confidence, poise, or self-possession of; disconcert; make ashamed or embarrassed: to abash someone by sneering.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English abaishen < dialectal Old French abacher, Old French abaissier to put down, bring low (see abase), perhaps conflated with Anglo-French abaiss-, long stem of abair, Old French esba(h)ir to gape, marvel, amaze (es- ex-1 + -ba(h)ir, alteration of baer to open wide, gape < Vulgar Latin *batāre; compare bay2, bay3)

a·bash·ment, noun


shame, discompose, embarrass.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
abashed (əˈbæʃt)
 
adj
ill at ease, embarrassed, or confused; ashamed
 
a'bashedly
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

abash
c.1300, from O.Fr. esbaiss-, stem of esbaer "gape with astonishment," from es "out" + ba(y)er "to be open, gape," from L. *batare "to yawn, gape," from root *bat, possibly imitative of yawning. Bashful is a 16c. derivative.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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