as in confused
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress
felt terribly abashed when she walked into the wrong hotel room
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in embarrassed
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Recent Examples of abashed
New York Times, 10 Nov. 2021
Delphine Hicks—Caroline had waited for her beside the church steps one First Sunday (big meeting day) and had thrown her to the ground and robbed the abashed vampire of her underthings.
—Zora Neale Hurston, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
The video shows a very abashed McKinnon saying goodbye to Ginsburg on the stage following the production.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2019
Privacy concerns cause abashed feeling in Silicon Valley Zuckerberg's potential retort comes after Apple's Cook made comments at the end of March in an interview with Recode's Kara Swisher and MSNBC's Chris Hayes.
—Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, 11 Apr. 2018
And, many know how to deliver home truths in a way that will elicit abashed agreement rather than anger.
—Cathie Anderson, sacbee, 9 Mar. 2018
Verb
But this year’s bash is looking a little more abashed.
—New York Times, 10 Nov. 2021
Delphine Hicks—Caroline had waited for her beside the church steps one First Sunday (big meeting day) and had thrown her to the ground and robbed the abashed vampire of her underthings.
—Zora Neale Hurston, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
The video shows a very abashed McKinnon saying goodbye to Ginsburg on the stage following the production.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2019
Privacy concerns cause abashed feeling in Silicon Valley Zuckerberg's potential retort comes after Apple's Cook made comments at the end of March in an interview with Recode's Kara Swisher and MSNBC's Chris Hayes.
—Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, 11 Apr. 2018
And, many know how to deliver home truths in a way that will elicit abashed agreement rather than anger.
—Cathie Anderson, sacbee, 9 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abashed
Verb
-
The Revolution provided a brief scare through a 59th-minute goal from Dor Turgeman, who embarrassed a defender before curling home a spectacular effort, but Inter Miami broke the tie almost immediately after the strike that made the score 2-1.—
Franco Panizo,
Miami Herald,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Me, a beautiful and clever five-time Emmy-winning writer with a few Wednesday nights free, and The Golden Bachelor, a heartwarming and adorable exploration of women’s second acts with a male doofus at the center who has already embarrassed himself.—
Ali Barthwell,
Vulture,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Lethargic and confused in their play.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Oxygen bleach soaks—Oxygen bleach (not to be confused with chlorine bleach) is a gentle yet powerful whitening agent.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The rapper pleaded not guilty after he was accused of charging at Los Angeles police officers while roaming the streets of Studio City in his underwear and a pair of cowboy boots in a disconcerted state.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
From the second possession onward, the Chiefs’ defense flustered Lamar Jackson, generating two turnovers for the second straight matchup.—
Pete Sweeney,
Kansas City Star,
2 Oct. 2025
-
At least several players appeared flustered, with Golden and wideout Dontayvion Wicks seemingly throwing up their hands in confusion.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Livestreaming isn’t the same as actually being there and seeing the fabric flow, the textures, the audience reaction and the bashful designer with their head down, forced onto the runway at the end of each show.—
Nadja Sayej,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Conrad is gorgeous yet bashful.—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The social media content creator and actress, who is from Assyrian and Bulgarian descent, was already self-conscious in grade school that her name didn’t fall into the Mary and Sue categories like the other kids’ names.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
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Excuse the cynicism, but this is the sort of combination of touchy-feely button-pushing and self-conscious peculiarity that’s meant to seem significant and profound that will bring out your inner rom-com Grinch.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
There are students who feel inhibited from expressing their Jewish or Zionist identity because of the atmosphere of the atmosphere of intimidation or harassment on college campuses.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Aug. 2025
-
Nini and Lali seemed happier without him—more relaxed, less inhibited.—
Tao Lin,
Harpers Magazine,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Guests of the event, dressed up in cocktail attire, admitted to feeling sheepish, reminded so powerfully about the current context, and hurried their way inside the storied building more quickly than in previous editions.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Red-cheeked and reticent, the duo shook their heads and took their sheepish leave.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abashed. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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