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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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
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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.
—
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
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
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
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
Verb
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Excavators sifted through sandy soil degraded by more than a century of cranberry production that formed a thick, hard layer over the natural freshwater wetlands the farms were built on.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
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The situation has caused a pile-on of speculation and allegations—including from some of its competitors—that the company is purposely degrading performance owing to a lack of compute capacity.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Tiger Woods is reportedly reeling after his latest DUI arrest, humiliated by the fallout.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2026
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Attorneys representing Butler, Darnbrough, the Commonwealth and the Bristol District Attorney’s Office at the Thursday status hearing all argued the letters lacked veracity, contained false allegations meant to humiliate and embarrass Butler and Darnbrough, and should not be disclosed.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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No one wants to be a jester, debasing oneself for a more powerful person’s amusement.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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In a new Instagram post shared on Tuesday, the composer behind the HBO show’s memorable soundtrack described an industry that debases its own art and the people who make it for the sake of consumerism.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In Mexico the loss of territory discredited the country’s conservative government and left many of its citizens unsure of their country’s future as an independent state.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
10 Apr. 2026
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This negativism and teen-like outbursts consequently discredit and tarnish the reputation of our country.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Sinlaku is forecast to continue weakening through the next few days, the National Weather Service said, passing west of the islands of Alamagan, Pagan and Agrihan through the latter half of the week.—
Emily Mae Czachor,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
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Some target the bacterial cell wall, weakening it until the cell breaks apart and dies.—
Panteha Torabian,
The Conversation,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Protesters, however, say that HERC, which neighbors Target Field near the North Loop neighborhood, is responsible for essentially poisoning people who live nearby.—
Conor Wight,
CBS News,
10 Apr. 2026
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But he was hauled back into court in August 2024 to answer to new allegations that also attempted to poison his daughter, who was then 10, using the same method.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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His ties to Epstein undercut his reputation (with his fans) as a chill truth teller or (with his detractors) as a villain with an uncanny ability to demean his enemies.—
Ali Breland,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2026
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Walsh and other right-wing commentators, along with comedian Ben Bankas, underscored Good’s sexuality to further demean her.—
Aniko Bodroghkozy,
The Conversation,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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An early discussion about social contracts comes down to us in Plato’s dialogue Crito in which Socrates, condemned to death for allegedly corrupting the youth, refused an offer to escape from prison.—
George G. Szpiro,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
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Meanwhile, the Pima County Sheriff Office investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is facing troubles of its own, as a former sheriff has accused current leadership of ‘corrupting’ the crime scene, and a deputy has been arrested and fired on a kidnapping charge.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abase.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abase. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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