Dictionary

abase en · VERB

Pronunciation

/əˈbeɪs/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
(Canada) audio
(General-American) audio
(Australia) audio

Etymology

From Late Middle English abaishen, abashen, abaisse, abassen, abesse, abessen (“to be upset; to embarrass; to surprise; to confound; to bend down, stoop; to abase, degrade, disgrace”), from Middle French abaisser, from Old French abaissier, abessier (“to prostrate oneself; to lower, reduce”) (also compare Old French esbahir (“to amaze”), Vulgar Latin abbassiāre (“to lower”)), from a- (prefix indicating movement towards something) (from Latin ad (“toward, to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd (“at, to”)) + baissier (“to lower”) (from Medieval Latin bassus (“short of stature, low; base”), possibly from Ancient Greek βᾰ́σῐς (bắsĭs, “foot; base, foundation”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷem- (“to step”)). The spelling of the English word has been influenced by base, thus ostensibly analyzable as a- (“towards”) + base. There exist verb cognates in Gallo-Romance languages such as Catalan abaixar (“lower; abase”) and Occitan abaissar, and similar word construction in other romance languages as Spanish abajo (“down, downstairs; below”).

Meanings

(transitive) To lower, as in condition in life, office, rank, etc., so as to cause pain or hurt feelings; to degrade, to depress, to humble, to humiliate.
- When a large kingdom abases itself to a small principality, it acquires that principality, and when a small state abases itself to a large one, it obtains service (or protection) under the large one. It is for this purpose that the small state submits, and the large kingdom annexes the small states for the purpose of uniting and maintaining the people. 1868 December, T. W., “Lao-Tzu. 老子: A Study in Chinese Philosophy.”, in The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal, volume I, number 8, Foochow: Printed by Rozario, Marçal & Co., →OCLC, chapter VI (Politics), page 158, column 2:
- Our adverſaries object againe, that by praying that Chriſts merits may be made ours in particular, we greatly abaſe them. As though the Prophet David did abaſe God in making him his in particular, ſaying, the Lord is my rock, my fortreſſe, my God, and my ſtrength, my ſhield, the horne of my ſalvation, and my refuge: […] 1657, John Ball, “By Faith a True Believer may be Certain and Infallibly Assured of the Remission of His Sins and Eternal Salvation”, in A Treatise of Faith: Divided into Two Parts: The First Shewing the Nature, the Second, the Life of Faith. […], 3rd corrected and enlarged edition, London: Printed for Edward Brewster, […], →OCLC, page 106:
- For whoſoeuer exalteth himſelfe ſhalbe abaſed: and hee that humbleth himſelfe, ſhalbe exalted. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 14:11:
(archaic, transitive) To lower physically; to depress; to cast or throw down; to stoop.
- Her gracious words their rancour did appall, / And ſuncke ſo deepe into their boyling breſts, / That downe they lett their cruel weapons fall, / And lowly did abaſe their lofty creſts, / To her faire preſence, and diſcrete beheſts. 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 32, page 214:
- In early January, [then Washington Post Opinion Editor David] Shipley rejected a cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winning staffer Ann Telnaes, whose proposed sketch showed Bezos alongside other tech and media billionaires abasing themselves before Trump. 2025 February 28, David Folkenflik, “Bezos' changes at 'Washington Post' lead to mass subscription cancellations — again”, in NPR:
- to abase the eye
- [A]ll of you together ſhall pay for the great blaſphemy thou haſt ſpoken againſt ſo immenſe a beautie, as is that of my Miſtreſſe. And ſaying ſo, he abaſed his Launce againſt him that had anſwered with ſuch furie and anger, as if good fortune had not ſo ordayned it, that Rozinante ſhould ſtumble, and fal in the midst of the Carrier, it had gone very ill with the bold Merchant. 1612–1620, [Miguel de Cervantes], “Of that which Befell to Our Knight, after He had Departed from the Inne”, in Thomas Shelton, transl., The History of the Valorous and Wittie Knight-errant Don-Quixote of the Mancha. […], London: […] William Stansby, for Ed[ward] Blount and W. Barret, →OCLC, part 1, page 30:
(obsolete, transitive) To lower in value, in particular by altering the content of alloys in coins; to debase.
- Though in the nature thereof, that with which a purer metal is mixed, be not base; yet, it abases the purer metal. […] [T]hough silver be a precious metal, yet it abases gold. Grace, and peace, and faith, are precious parts of our treasure here; yet, if we mingle them, that is, compare them with the joys, and glory of heaven; […] we abase, and over-alloy these joys, and that glory. 1629 February 12, John Donne, “Sermon CXXXVI. A Lent Sermon Preached to the King, at Whitehall, February 12, 1629”, in Henry Alford, editor, The Works of John Donne, D.D., Dean of St. Paul’s, 1621–1631. […] In Six Volumes, volume V, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 450:
- [H]er majesty [Elizabeth I of England] let them all to understand, that she never intended (God's grace assisting her) to leese the fruit of so famous an act, by abasing the coin of the realm, which she found to be for the more part copper, and had now recovered it to be as fine, or rather finer, sterling silver, than ever it was in the realm by the space of two hundred years or more; a matter worth marking and memory. 1840, Rogers Ruding, “Elizabeth”, in Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain and Its Dependencies; from the Earliest Period of Authentic History to the Reign of Victoria, 3rd corrected and enlarged edition, London: Printed for John Hearne, […], by Manning and Mason, […], →OCLC, page 341:

Forms

Spelling	Features	Source
abased	Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic
abased	Tense=Past	lexicographic
abases	Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres	lexicographic
abasing	Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part	lexicographic

Translations (66)

ro înjosi (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ja 卑しめる (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · fr abaisser (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · de erniedrigen (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · fi laskea (to lower physically) · nan-hbl 降低 (to lower physically) · es humillar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · io abasar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · cmn 羞辱 (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · mk пони́зува (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ak brɛ adze (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · is auðmýkja (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ko 낮추다 (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ga uirísligh (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · fr baisser (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · da ydmyge (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · is niðurlægja (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ak bu abomfeaa (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · cy iselhau (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · got 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌽𐌾𐌰𐌽 (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ja 格下げする (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · pt rebaixar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · no ydmyke (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ru уни́зить (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · fi alentaa (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · gl rebaixar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · es degradar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · bg понижа́вам (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ca humiliar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · nl vernederen (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · it umiliare (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · mi whakapāpaku (to lower physically) · ja 貶める (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · bg унижа́вам (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ru унижа́ть (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · pt abater (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · arz ذل (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · gv injillee (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · it abbassare (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ja 下げる (to lower physically) · cmn 貶低 /贬低 (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · fr humilier (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · cy darostwng (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ak brɛ ase (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · mi whakapāpaku (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · fi alentaa (to lower physically) · no fornedre (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ia abassar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · nl strijken (to lower physically) · cs pokořit (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · pt abaixar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ro umili (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · cs ponížit (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · el εξευτελίζω (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · it abbassare (to lower physically) · it degradare (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · fi nöyryyttää (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · pt humilhar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · nl kleineren (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · fr rabaisser (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · nl neerhalen (to lower physically) · ar ذَلّ (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · es rebajar (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · ja 卑下する (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings) · cmn 降低 (to lower physically) · sm fa'amaulalo (to lower so as to cause pain or hurt feelings)

abase en · VERB

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Etymology

Meanings

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Translations (66)