abject
adjective
ab·ject
| \ ˈab-ˌjekt
\
\
Definition of abject
1
: sunk to or existing in a low state or condition : very bad or severe
living in abject poverty to lowest pitch of abject fortune thou art fallen— John Milton abject failure
2a
: cast down in spirit : servile, spiritless
a man made abject by suffering an abject coward
b
: showing hopelessness or resignation
abject surrender
3
: expressing or offered in a humble and often ingratiating spirit
abject flattery an abject apology
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Other Words from abject
abjectly
\ ˈab-ˌjek(t)-lē
, ab-ˈ \
adverb
, ab-ˈ \
adverb
abjectness
\ -ˌjek(t)-nəs
, -ˈjek(t)- \
noun
, -ˈjek(t)- \
noun
Examples of abject in a Sentence
… the time would come that no human being should be humiliated or be made abject.
— Katherine Anne Porter, The Never-Ending Wrong, 1977
… my critical intelligence sometimes shrivels to an abject nodding of the head.
— Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, May 1971
… nothing seemed to have changed at the Beehive across the years. The same pallid employees were visible in the same abject state of peonage, cringing under the whiplash of overseers.
— S. J. Perelman, Baby, It's Cold Inside, 1970
They live in abject misery.
He offered an abject apology.
She thought he was an abject coward.
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Recent Examples on the Web
After exploiting everything and everyone, making millions and, in Epstein’s case, billions, both men died as guests of the nation, with either the abject incompetence or sinister connivance of a government that once coddled them. — Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, "Jeffrey Epstein and ‘Whitey’ Bulger: A tale of two sociopaths," 15 Aug. 2019 In Russia, as writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn noted with regret, the clerical compromise with power was more abject than in Poland: the Russian Orthodox church escaped near annihilation in the early 1960s by agreeing to parrot Soviet foreign policy. — The Economist, "Church leaders in central and eastern Europe remain surprisingly loth to condemn their old adversary," 11 Aug. 2019 Both artists were preoccupied with the abject side of the human body — the body as meat. — Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, "Artist Hyman Bloom’s body of work is revered. And the bodies are cadavers.," 31 July 2019 On July 2, the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General issued a report showing that migrant children detained by Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley were held in abject conditions. — Nicholas Wu, USA TODAY, "'A lot more needs to be done for them': Ex-CBP chief explains why he left the Trump administration, report says," 11 July 2019 Unfortunately, in terms of relevance to the looming general elections in 2020, the accelerating impact of global climate change is experiencing abject disinterest in current political discourse. — Letter Writers, Twin Cities, "Letters: What radical politician made this proclamation?," 7 July 2019 All the while, the Wizards remain somewhat in purgatory, with John Wall expected to miss all of the coming season due to a ruptured Achilles, Otto Porter cast aside last season in cost cutting, and the abject failure with Dwight Howard. — Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, "Heat to find out if Beal street is even navigable," 25 July 2019 This African crisis is on a par with those in Yemen and Syria but gets much less attention than either -- perhaps because CAR, a landlocked country of abject poverty, has never seemed as geopolitically significant as those other cases. — Sebastian Shukla, Tim Lister And Clarissa Ward, CNN, "The forgotten crisis that has displaced 1.2 million people," 27 June 2019 As homelessness soars across the Bay Area, signs of abject poverty are becoming more evident on BART, where commuters mingle uneasily with transients seeking shelter on the trains. — Taylor Kate Brown, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Briefing: Fentanyl epidemic worsens in San Francisco," 24 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'abject.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for abject
abject
adjective
ab·ject
| \ ˈab-ˌjekt
\
\
Kids Definition of abject
1
: very bad or severe
abject poverty
2
: low in spirit, strength, or hope
an abject coward
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