MEANING
To lower someone's dignity, status, or self-respect.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- abase oneself
- abase another person
On the page
He abased himself before the committee in the hope of saving his post.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- abase
- Past tense
- abased
- Past participle
- abased
- Present participle
- abasing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- abase
- Present continuous
- am/is/are abasing
- Present perfect
- have/has abased
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been abasing
- Past
- abased
- Past continuous
- was/were abasing
- Past perfect
- had abased
- Past perfect continuous
- had been abasing
- Future
- will abase
- Future continuous
- will be abasing
- Future perfect
- will have abased
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been abasing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: abase; abases; abased; abased; abasing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: uncommon. Third-person singular: abases.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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