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abash

verb
\ ə-ˈbash How to pronounce abash (audio) \
abashed; abashing; abashes

Definition of abash

transitive verb

: to destroy the self-possession or self-confidence of (someone) : disconcert He had never blushed in his life; no humiliation could abash him.— Charlotte Brontë
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Other Words from abash

abashment noun
… I turned to Susan, still sitting there huddled up in her coat, looking, to my abashment, as helpless as the day I had found her. — Phillip Roth

Choose the Right Synonym for abash

embarrass, discomfit, abash, disconcert, rattle mean to distress by confusing or confounding. embarrass implies some influence that impedes thought, speech, or action. The question embarrassed her so much she couldn't answer discomfit implies a hampering or frustrating accompanied by confusion. Hecklers discomfited the speaker abash presupposes some initial self-confidence that receives a sudden check, producing shyness, shame, or a feeling of inferiority. abashed by her swift and cutting retort disconcert implies an upsetting of equanimity or assurance producing uncertainty or hesitancy. disconcerted by finding so many in attendance rattle implies an agitation that impairs thought and judgment. rattled by all the television cameras

Examples of abash in a Sentence

felt terribly abashed when she walked into the wrong hotel room

Recent Examples on the Web

 Here, furious parents throw open the cupboard to reveal their daughter’s abashed lover, as younger children look on wide-eyed and the family dog prepares to attack. — Susan Delson, WSJ, "The National Gallery Sees the Humor in Its Own Collection—and Puts It on View," 20 June 2018 Bloom called him out, and the abashed Harris apologized. — Christina Schoellkopf, latimes.com, "Hashtag Highlights: 'Wonder Woman 2' teased, 'Degrassi' cast reunited," 15 June 2018 Not easily abashed by body-shamers, Teigen has publicly posted next-to-naked topless photos in the past. — Megan Decker, Harper's BAZAAR, "Chrissy Teigen Just Posed in Hospital Underwear and Got Real About Motherhood on Instagram," 22 May 2018 Hefner was good-natured but rather abashed, diffident, and shy. — Jeanie Pyun, The Hollywood Reporter, "Camille Paglia on Hugh Hefner's Legacy, Trump's Masculinity and Feminism's Sex Phobia," 2 Oct. 2017 Peverelli seemed slightly abashed at the images’ potential elevation from commerce to art. — Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, "Gerhard Steidl Is Making Books an Art Form," 22 May 2017 But there is also a sort of confused, abashed one, often ironic, that acknowledges a problem and tries to work through a particularly American obliviousness. — Jill Mcdonough, New York Times, "My Sister Wants to Buy My Dad a Drone for Father’s Day," 21 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abash.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of abash

14th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for abash

Middle English abaissen, abaschen "to lose one's composure," borrowed from Anglo-French abaiss-, stem of abair "to open wide, gape, be amazed," alteration (by prefix substitution) of esbaer (Continental Old French esbahir), from es- "out" (going back to Latin ex-) + baer "to open wide, gape," going back to Vulgar Latin *batāre — more at ex- entry 1, abeyance

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More Definitions for abash

abash

verb
\ ə-ˈbash How to pronounce abash (audio) \
abashed; abashing

Kids Definition of abash

: embarrass

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More from Merriam-Webster on abash

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with abash

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for abash

Spanish Central: Translation of abash

Nglish: Translation of abash for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of abash for Arabic Speakers

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