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abase

verb

ə-ˈbās How to pronounce abase (audio)
Definition of abasenext
1
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality was unwilling to abase himself by pleading guilty to a crime that he did not commit

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes I certainly don't abase myself when I do good, honest manual labor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abase 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abase
  1. degrade
  2. humiliate
  3. debase
  4. discredit
  5. weaken
  6. poison
  7. demean
  8. corrupt
Verb
  • As industries increasingly operate equipment in extreme thermal and demanding environments, optical components must withstand conditions that can quickly degrade conventional materials.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
  • When a critical resource of a larger system is categorized as interchangeable, the company triggers savings logic that, in pursuit of lower prices, degrades quality.
    — Mindaugas Čaplinskas, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of degrade
Verb
  • Continue reading … STILL THEIR TURF — Walker outgains Denver's entire offense as Chiefs humiliate Broncos on MNF.
    — , FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • On a cold night in November 2011, in a field outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a gang of thugs stormed a Soviet scientific research institute, beat and humiliated the staff and burned the place to the ground.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of humiliate
Verb
  • This rousing tribute to the free press, delivered by the son of a journalist, was followed by the world premiere of Danny Boyle’s Ink, a film about how the journalists at British tabloid The Sun ended up debasing our entire society.
    — Nate Jones, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The bulk of these are in regions like Africa and South America, where governments have repeatedly debased national currencies, and prompted their citizens to seek out sturdier assets like Tether’s dollar and gold offerings instead.
    — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of debase
Verb
  • The issue here is not with this project, which is building something artistic and beautiful, but with a broader, pro-AI tech culture that has discredited AI and its public image.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Sep. 2026
  • At the same time, the war on terror fueled an alarming rise in xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment and discredited the country’s political and foreign policy elites.
    — Daniel Benjamin, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of discredit
Verb
  • People familiar with the deliberations said lawmakers worried the requirements would raise drug prices and weaken national security by revealing the precise locations where lifesaving medications are made.
    — Naisha Roy, ProPublica, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Macron warned that the attacks would not go unanswered and accused Moscow of trying to intimidate Europeans into weakening their support for Ukraine.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of weaken
Verb
  • Over the course of Exile, one of Loktev’s subjects is poisoned; another receives a five-year prison sentence in absentia.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • This is the league, remember, where a man (Harvey Updyke) confessed to poisoning the trees at Auburn on a radio show after Alabama lost to the Tigers, and a coach (Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State) castrated a bull to motivate his squad.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of poison
Verb
  • Two years before that he was given a final warning when WhatsApp messages demeaning Strauss, then England captain, were sent to England’s opponents South Africa by Pietersen.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But opposing an immigration policy does not give anyone license to demean people because of their race or ethnicity.
    — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of demean
Verb
  • The title character and his fellow physicists spend much of their early years refusing to work for the Soviet military machine; building bombs would corrupt the purity and beauty of their science.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Sep. 2026
  • And by engaging with these powerful militaries, the group reinforced its self-image as a major regional player that was uniquely capable of liberating the Muslim world from corrupting American and Israeli influence.
    — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of corrupt

Browse Nearby Words

abandons
abase
abased
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Cite this Entry

“Abase.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abase. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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