1
as in to degrade
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to humiliate
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of abase
Turturro was attracted to the novel’s house style: Its manic, sarcastic, abasing observations, largely written in the third person but never far from Sabbath’s perspective, seemed made for the theater.
—
Marc Tracy, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023
Pence has long since perfected the ability to abase himself in public without seeming the least bit ashamed.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2023
The question is whether the ways in which Pence abased himself in Trump’s efforts to hold on to power will make his testimony seem weaker or more credible.
—Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2023
The tension of the novel is between the femme’s self-abasing love for the brilliant masculine creator and the artist in search of her own form.
—Saidiya Hartman, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2023
He’s forced Republican politicians to publicly abase themselves and trash the nation’s premier law-enforcement agencies in an effort to stay in his good graces.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2022
Unfortunately, an impulse to abase oneself isn’t resolved by a recognition that human life is a collaboration.
—Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021
One by one, internees abase themselves before 60 of their fellow prisoners, repenting of their errors in thinking and their nonprogressive religious practices.
—James E. Person Jr., National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
By the end of the weekend, the entire NBA was in damage-control mode, profusely and absurdly abasing themselves.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 7 Oct. 2019
Marc Tracy, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023
Pence has long since perfected the ability to abase himself in public without seeming the least bit ashamed.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2023
The question is whether the ways in which Pence abased himself in Trump’s efforts to hold on to power will make his testimony seem weaker or more credible.
—Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2023
The tension of the novel is between the femme’s self-abasing love for the brilliant masculine creator and the artist in search of her own form.
—Saidiya Hartman, The New Yorker, 3 Mar. 2023
He’s forced Republican politicians to publicly abase themselves and trash the nation’s premier law-enforcement agencies in an effort to stay in his good graces.
—Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 11 Aug. 2022
Unfortunately, an impulse to abase oneself isn’t resolved by a recognition that human life is a collaboration.
—Caleb Crain, The Atlantic, 10 Aug. 2021
One by one, internees abase themselves before 60 of their fellow prisoners, repenting of their errors in thinking and their nonprogressive religious practices.
—James E. Person Jr., National Review, 17 Sep. 2020
By the end of the weekend, the entire NBA was in damage-control mode, profusely and absurdly abasing themselves.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 7 Oct. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abase
Verb
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Government lawyers argue that Meta's services have degraded in quality in part because of its dominant position in the marketplace.—
Bobby Allyn,
NPR,
13 Apr. 2025
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According to the National Institutes of Health, ALS progressively degrades, then kills nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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There was a period when Broadway creators thought the only way to get a performance was to humiliate a person.—
Mark Seliger,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
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An investigation of at least eight fraternities found that members humiliated students through means like beating them with paddles or forcing potential recruits to eat live fish and drink urine, according to court filings.—
Dan Belson,
Baltimore Sun,
3 Apr. 2025
Verb
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His illuminating backstage account of cable news describes thoughtful journalists debasing themselves in their scramble to retain straying viewers.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
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This is what distinguishes bitcoin from every other modern financial asset – like gold, it cannot be debased by fiat or easily censored.—
Dave Birnbaum,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
Verb
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His tariffs were not based on the import taxes charged by other countries but by the size of each trade deficit, a calculation that instantly discredited the policy with many economists and investors.—
Time,
Time,
10 Apr. 2025
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Bolsonaro’s efforts to discredit the election had already found allies abroad.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Agreeing to a pick swap with the Lynx weakened the value of the pick that the Sky traded away.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Apr. 2025
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One by one, the sectors defect, and, eventually, the leader may weaken and their government may fall.—
Julia Angwin,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Until Henry momentarily excuses himself from the table, that is, and the person or persons behind these winky-wink messages tell her to poison Henry ASAP or the menacing guy currently hiding in her apartment will kill her boy.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2025
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Calls to poison control centers for pediatric melatonin ingestion increased 530 percent between 2012 and 2021, according to one analysis published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Doral’s Blue Monster demeans itself.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2025
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Doral’s Blue Monster demeans itself.—
Greg Cote,
Miami Herald,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Stuart Miller, Boynton Beach Seven memorable words Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
14 Apr. 2025
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The show followed an ensemble of one-percenters at the titular resort in Hawaii, observing how their privilege blinds them to reality and corrupts everyone around them, leading to conflicts, cruelty, and, eventually, violence.—
Sophie Gilbert,
The Atlantic,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abase.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abase. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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