1
as in degrading
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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in humiliating
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abasing
Verb
-
Israel appears to have taken the lead on assassinating even low-level figures linked to Iran’s nuclear program while systematically degrading the knowledge centers that could prove useful in the future.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026 -
The determined plant can grow in many conditions, including sun or shade and wet or dry soil, displacing native species, disrupting local ecosystems, and even degrading riverbanks.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
State caseworkers have sent an untold number of elders in their care to a coterie of homes with a history of hurting, ignoring or humiliating their residents, records and anguished families say.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
-
These clips often use humor and pop‑culture aesthetics—even LEGO‑style animations—to show Iran’s late supreme leader outsmarting and humiliating his American adversaries.—
Newsweek Editors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
No one wants to be a jester, debasing oneself for a more powerful person’s amusement.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Since the summer of 2025, antiforeigner sentiment—fueled by false or exaggerated claims about migrant workers committing crimes, foreign residents draining welfare coffers, or international tourists debasing Japanese culture—has taken hold in Japanese politics.—
GRACIA LIU-FARRER,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Henry’s wife Yasmin (Marisa Abela) ultimately convinces Hayley to accuse Dycker of assault, discrediting his story about Tender, and weaponizing #MeToo-era politics.—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
5 Mar. 2026
-
Supporters of Pahlavi were particularly vocal in Mashhad this month, as attested by the prevalence of pro-monarchy graffiti on city walls, and the regime’s propaganda devoted particular attention to discrediting the former crown prince.—
Davood Moradian,
The Atlantic,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Instead, these public dollars went to a DeSantis political fund aimed at subverting ballot measures to legalize private use of marijuana and constitutionalize women’s ability to access reproductive health care.—
Howard L. Simon,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
-
While fashion has a long history of subverting religious motifs, Spradlin said the colors reflect a shift to sincerity, adding that Gen Z and millennials are outpacing older cohorts in church attendance.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
For Hildegard of Bingen, the German mystic, scientist, composer, and philosopher, women’s maternal bodies were not corrupting and degrading, but strong, nurturing, and creative.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Anthropic's showdown with the Pentagon this year left OpenAI looking like the bad guy, and just this week Bloomberg reported that demand is weakening for private shares of OpenAI in the secondary market.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
-
But those safeguards appear to be weakening.—
Jennifer Elias,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Abasing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abasing. Accessed 9 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
