To abash someone is to shake up their self-possession, as illustrated by Charlotte Brontë in her 1849 novel Shirley: "He had never blushed in his life; no humiliation could abash him." When you are unabashed you make no apologies for your behavior (nor do you attempt to hide or disguise it), but when you are abashed your confidence has been thrown off and you may feel rather inferior or ashamed of yourself. English speakers have been using abashed to describe feelings of embarrassment since the 14th century, but they have only used unabashed (brazenly or otherwise) since the 15th century (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
She is an unabashed supporter of the president's policies. unabashed by their booing and hissing, he continued with his musical performance
Recent Examples on the WebBut the decision to put forward an unabashed MAGA ticket suggests electoral considerations weren't the former president's top priority.—Zachary Basu, Axios, 16 July 2024 Still, the character was a consistently entertaining, sometimes even endearing, presence in the mid-aughts TV landscape in part because of her unabashed desire for the finer things in life.—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 5 July 2024 Billed as a street car tribute to Ferrari’s SF90 Formula 1 machine, the SF90 Stradale is an unabashed hypercar boasting 1,000 hp from three electric motors and a twin-turbo V-8.—Robb Report Staff, Robb Report, 4 July 2024 Already on the Orioles’ 40-man roster, Johnson is armed with unabashed confidence and an arsenal that might play up even better in the bullpen.—Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 25 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for unabashed
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unabashed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English unabaiste, from un- + abaiste, past participle of abaissen, abaishen to abash
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