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
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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
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Recent Examples of abase
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.
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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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abase
Verb
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Anything infused with essential oils will have a shorter shelf life; these candles tend to degrade after about two years.Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Nov. 2024
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That microgravity explains why vision tends to degrade over time, and being in space could result in cognitive declines long-term.Katie Hunt, CNN, 22 Nov. 2024
Verb
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To see the reigning English champions humiliated and humbled in such a manner is a very rare event.Tim Spiers, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024
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Teeny feels humiliated over the fact that Genevieve left her out of the Sol vote, which is more than understandable.Nick Caruso, TVLine, 20 Nov. 2024
Verb
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By that time – perhaps only a decade from now, perhaps longer – the dollar may have been debased so badly that one bitcoin might be priced at $1 trillion or more.Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
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Bitcoin’s edge over gold lies in its unparalleled scarcity and technological attributes—a mix between a tech stock and gold that cannot be debased and can settle globally in minutes.Ansel Lindner, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
Verb
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In states where bans have passed through the legislature, including in Tennessee, testimony from those opposing such care has often been discredited—yet politicians pass the bans anyway, often along party lines.Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024
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Trump also openly campaigned on pardoning supporters who participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — discrediting the notion that the Hunter Biden case will somehow give Trump political cover to issue controversial pardons.Zachary Basu, Axios, 3 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Russia's Central Bank (CBR) intervened on Wednesday to prop up the plummeting ruble, which weakened to 114 against the U.S. dollar, its lowest since March 2022 during the first weeks of Putin's full-scale invasion.Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2024
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Russia ruble rout The Russian ruble weakened to 114 against the dollar on Wednesday.Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 29 Nov. 2024
Verb
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Ending lead poisoning Lead poisoning has, historically, been a major blind spot in the global health world.Dylan Matthews, Vox, 3 Dec. 2024
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In March 2018, Ashley checked into a Florida hospital and alleged that Doug was abusive and poisoned her.Jessica Sager, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The two musicians released several tunes, with each one aiming to insult and demean the other, while also showcasing the talents of the artist behind the cut. Lamar and Drake both ended up scoring big hits on the Billboard charts with their diss tunes.Hugh McIntyre, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024
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Trump won’t do anything for you, other than denigrate and demean you.Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 16 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Rachel: Yes, this is a film about how absolute power corrupts absolutely and how there is no hope of true justice under late capitalism.Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Nov. 2024
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That includes when a campaign staffer accidentally downloads a malicious file or when a hacker corrupts a key data file.Sam Sabin, Axios, 29 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near abase
Cite this Entry
“Abase.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abase. Accessed 10 Dec. 2024.
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