ABASE(VERB)|Meaning of Abase by Learn English

Definition:

• To lower someone in rank, office, prestige, or esteem.

• Behave in a way that belittles or degrades someone.

• The definition of abase is to make someone lower, either by humiliating him/her or by demoting his/her position.

Synonyms:

Humiliate, Indignity, Be under a cloud(Idiom), Shamed, Reduce, Diminish, Canker, Cheapen, Debauch, Vitiate, Subvert, Prostitute, Profane, Demoralize, Deteriorate, Fluster, Censure, Defile, Write off, Castigate, Cry down, Ridicule, Bad-mouth.

Similar words:

Belittle, Demean, Lower, Degrade, Disgrace, Disparage, Debase, Mortify, Humble, Discredit, Grovel, Kowtow, Bow and scrape, Toady, Deflate, Dishonour, Fall from grace(Idiom)

Antonyms:

Aggrandize, Canonize, Deify, Elevate, Exalt, Build up, Laud, Compliment, Praise, Esteem, Upgrade, Respect, Honor, Flatter. Promote.

Near antonyms:

Raise, Expand, Extol, Extend, Value, Grow, Cherish, Dignify, Increase, Uplift, Meliorate, Cleanse, Restore, Ennoble, Applaud, Boast, Ensky, Enshrine, Enthrone, Glorify, Acknowledge, Recognize, Tout, Hail, Magnify.

Examples as verb:

• I certainly don’t abase myself when I do good, honest, manual labour.

• Don’t abase your friend by making fun of his accent.

• The demotion did not abase his credibility with his peers.

• He was unwilling to abase himself by pleading guilty to a crime that he didn’t commit.

Usages as noun:

• She felt great abasement when criticized by her boss and colleagues.

• The constant abasement and humiliation made him weary.

• Constant abasement and humiliation by her abusive mother caused the mistreated girl to have very low self esteem.

• I can’t believe he was able to withstand such abasement.

• Only an evil man would delight in the abasement of his children.

History and etymology of Abase:

Abase(v):

Late 14c., “reduce in rank”, etc.,”from old French abaissier “diminish, make lower in value or status; lower oneself” (12c.), literally “bend, lean down,” from vulgar Latin *ad bassiare “bring lower”, from ad “to, toward (see ad-) + Late Latin bassus “low, short” ( see base (adj.)).