OpenSynonym

abase

/əˈbeɪs/

VERB

1. To lower someone's dignity or social standing

To cause someone to lose dignity, status, respect, or self-esteem by treating them as inferior, degrading them, or placing them in a humiliating position.

1.1. Personal dignity and self-respect

Used when someone is made to feel inferior, ashamed, or less worthy, particularly through degrading treatment or actions that undermine personal dignity.

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Examples

  • He refused to abase himself by compromising his integrity for personal gain.
  • The teacher never abases students for making mistakes.
  • She would not allow anyone to abase her or undermine her self-respect.

Related Words

1.2. Social status, rank, and authority

Used when someone is brought down in rank, prestige, influence, or perceived importance, often through deliberate mistreatment or a loss of respect.

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Examples

  • The ruler sought to abase his political rivals by stripping them of their titles.
  • A responsible leader does not abase the authority of colleagues to strengthen his own position.
  • The scandal threatened to abase the official in the eyes of the public.

Related Words

1.3. Insults, ridicule, and public humiliation

Used when someone is degraded through insulting remarks, public criticism, ridicule, or deliberate attacks on their reputation and worth.

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Examples

  • The manager should correct mistakes without trying to abase employees in front of their colleagues.
  • He uses sarcastic remarks to abase anyone who challenges his opinions.
  • The public speaker refused to abase her opponent with personal insults.

Related Words

VERB

2. To lower the value, quality, or integrity of something

To reduce the worth, quality, purity, or integrity of something, especially by diminishing its standards, corrupting its substance, or making it less valuable.

2.1. Value and worth

Used when the value, importance, or perceived worth of an object, asset, currency, or other possession is reduced.

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Examples

  • The careless handling of the collection could abase its perceived value among collectors.
  • Repeated quality failures abase the reputation and commercial value of a product.
  • The policy risks abasing the value of the currency by reducing the precious-metal content of its coins.

Related Words

2.2. Quality, purity, and integrity

Used when the quality or integrity of a substance, material, standard, or principle is lowered through contamination, adulteration, corruption, or deterioration.

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Examples

  • The manufacturer must avoid practices that abase the quality of its materials.
  • Compromising ethical standards can abase the integrity of an entire institution.
  • The use of inferior ingredients may abase the quality of the finished product.

Related Words

VERB

3. To lower physically or force someone into a lower position

To bring something or someone downward physically or into a lower position, although this sense is less common in modern English than the figurative meaning involving dignity or status.

3.1. Physical lowering and downward movement

Used in the relatively uncommon literal sense of lowering, depressing, or bringing something down from a higher position.

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Examples

  • In the older usage, the verb can describe an action that abases something from a higher position.
  • The historical account uses the term to describe the lowering of a physical object.

Related Words

  • descent
  • depression
  • position
  • height
  • movement