abased; abasing
1
formal
: to lower in rank, office, prestige, or esteem
abase oneself
… the shame that had abased him within and without …—
James Joyce
James Joyce2
archaic
: to lower physically
As we enter among them the great elephant makes us a bow in the best style of elephantine courtesy, bending lowly down his mountain bulk, with trunk abased and leg thrust out behind.—Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel HawthorneExamples of abase in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Turturro was attracted to the novel’s house style: Its manic, sarcastic, abasing observations, largely written in the third person but never far from Sabbath’s perspective, seemed made for the theater.
—Marc Tracy, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023
Pence has long since perfected the ability to abase himself in public without seeming the least bit ashamed.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2023
The question is whether the ways in which Pence abased himself in Trump’s efforts to hold on to power will make his testimony seem weaker or more credible.
—Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2023
The tension of the novel is between the femme’s self-abasing love for the brilliant masculine creator and the artist in search of her own form.
—Saidiya Hartman, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2023
He’s forced Republican politicians to publicly abase themselves and trash the nation’s premier law-enforcement agencies in an effort to stay in his good graces.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2022
Unfortunately, an impulse to abase oneself isn’t resolved by a recognition that human life is a collaboration.
—Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021
One by one, internees abase themselves before 60 of their fellow prisoners, repenting of their errors in thinking and their nonprogressive religious practices.
—James E. Person Jr., National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
By the end of the weekend, the entire NBA was in damage-control mode, profusely and absurdly abasing themselves.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 7 Oct. 2019
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Marc Tracy, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023
Pence has long since perfected the ability to abase himself in public without seeming the least bit ashamed.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2023
The question is whether the ways in which Pence abased himself in Trump’s efforts to hold on to power will make his testimony seem weaker or more credible.
—Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2023
The tension of the novel is between the femme’s self-abasing love for the brilliant masculine creator and the artist in search of her own form.
—Saidiya Hartman, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2023
He’s forced Republican politicians to publicly abase themselves and trash the nation’s premier law-enforcement agencies in an effort to stay in his good graces.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2022
Unfortunately, an impulse to abase oneself isn’t resolved by a recognition that human life is a collaboration.
—Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021
One by one, internees abase themselves before 60 of their fellow prisoners, repenting of their errors in thinking and their nonprogressive religious practices.
—James E. Person Jr., National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
By the end of the weekend, the entire NBA was in damage-control mode, profusely and absurdly abasing themselves.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 7 Oct. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Abase.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abase. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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