abjection

noun

ab·​jec·​tion ab-ˈjek-shən 

1

: a low or downcast state : degradation

2

: the act of making abject : humbling, rejection

I protest … this vile abjection of youth to age

—G. B. Shaw

Synonyms

• corruption
• corruptness
• debasement
• debauchery
• decadence
• decadency
• degeneracy
• degenerateness
• degeneration
• degradation
• demoralization
• depravity
• dissipatedness
• dissipation
• dissoluteness
• libertinage
• libertinism
• perversion
• pervertedness
• rakishness
• turpitude

Examples of abjection in a Sentence

sees the corporate scandal as yet another sign of the general abjection of our society

Recent Examples on the Web

Mitchell performed abjection at her past self, cringing at every photo. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 May 2024

But Reeves didn’t embrace abjection the way his wife did. —Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024

Her Roberta is prepared to drown in her own abjection, but Abbott’s Danny keeps throwing himself to her as a lifeline. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023

His arc is also, unfortunately — despite some punishingly long sequences in which Safdie channels the character’s abjection — the murkiest. —Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abjectioun "humbleness, abject state, outcasts," borrowed from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French abjeccioun "rejection, outcasts," borrowed from Late Latin abjectiōn-, abjectiō "casting away, rejection, humbled condition, humbleness," going back to Latin, "dejection," from abicere "to throw down" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at abject

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1