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 of abjection

• degradation
• dissoluteness
• corruptness
• corruption

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

Rodrigo clearly understands that his band’s essence lies not only in its dreamy guitars but also in the total abjection beneath them. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026

Nothing that reflects the sheer abjection of the murderous dog pounds of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries or the many individual cruelties visited upon dogs. —Literary Hub, 10 June 2026

The triumph of self-abjection serves as a soothing narrative hook in a certain species of female-survivorship tale. —Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

While the results vary, this cycle of abjection and memeification is one of the central rituals of life in certain areas of the social internet. —Paul McAdory, Them., 9 Dec. 2025

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

Rhymes for abjection

• advection
• affection
• bijection
• bisection
• collection
• complexion
• confection
• connection
• connexion
• convection
• correction
• defection