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The Difference Between Abashed and Unabashed
To abash someone is to shake up their self-possession, as illustrated by Charlotte Brontë in her 1849 novel Shirley: "He had never blushed in his life; no humiliation could abash him." When you are unabashed you make no apologies for your behavior (nor do you attempt to hide or disguise it), but when you are abashed your confidence has been thrown off and you may feel rather inferior or ashamed of yourself. English speakers have been using abashed to describe feelings of embarrassment since the 14th century, but they have only used unabashed (brazenly or otherwise) since the 15th century (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Examples of unabashed in a Sentence
Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
While the food is tasty, the joy of Santo Coyote lies in its festive atmosphere and unabashed spectacle.
—Freda Moon, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
And yet Melissa McCarthy’s gut-busting bridesmaid, Megan, went the extra mile down the path of crazy, from her unabashed man-hunting to her unashamed puppy kidnapping.
—Marco Della Cava, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2025
Over the past few weeks, Donald Trump has positioned himself as an unabashed bull on America’s need to dominate AI.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Unabashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unabashed. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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