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).
She is an unabashed supporter of the president's policies. unabashed by their booing and hissing, he continued with his musical performance
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In December 2023, Sydney Sweeney starred with Glen Powell in Anyone But You, Sony Pictures’ romantic comedy that became an unabashed box office success, making $220 million on a budget of $25 million.—Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Oct. 2024 Trump is an unabashed authoritarian, and authoritarianism is anathema to liberty.—Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune, 3 Oct. 2024 Gill, who was the focus of the film Dumb Money, has been an unabashed GameStop bull for years, posting on Twitter/X as Roaring Kitty and on Reddit under the name DeepF—ingValue.—Chris Morris, Fortune, 30 Oct. 2024 In fact, there’s a lot to be said about her risky fashion choices and her unabashed attitude.—Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for unabashed
Word History
Etymology
Middle English unabaiste, from un- + abaiste, past participle of abaissen, abaishen to abash
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