abjection

noun

ab·​jec·​tion ab-ˈjek-shən 

1

: a low or downcast state : degradation

2

: the act of making abject : humbling, rejection

I protest … this vile abjection of youth to age

—G. B. Shaw

Synonyms

• corruption
• corruptness
• debasement
• debauchery
• decadence
• decadency
• degeneracy
• degenerateness
• degeneration
• degradation
• demoralization
• depravity
• dissipatedness
• dissipation
• dissoluteness
• libertinage
• libertinism
• perversion
• pervertedness
• rakishness
• turpitude

Examples of abjection in a Sentence

sees the corporate scandal as yet another sign of the general abjection of our society

Recent Examples on the Web

Her experience taught her both the power and the abjection of a life lived on public display. —Molly Fischer, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2024

How much provocation will be accepted; how much abjection is still lovable? —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2024

Their work forgoes relatability to revel in delusion, with all its abjection and pathos—especially their own. —Seyward Darby, Longreads, 15 Aug. 2024

Mitchell performed abjection at her past self, cringing at every photo. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 24 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abjectioun "humbleness, abject state, outcasts," borrowed from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French abjeccioun "rejection, outcasts," borrowed from Late Latin abjectiōn-, abjectiō "casting away, rejection, humbled condition, humbleness," going back to Latin, "dejection," from abicere "to throw down" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at abject

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1