Abase

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Abase \A*base"\ ([.a]*b[=a]s"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Abased}
     ([.a]*b[=a]st"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Abasing}.] [F. abaisser,
     LL. abassare, abbassare; ad + bassare, fr. bassus low. See
     {Base}, a.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. To lower or depress; to throw or cast down; as, to abase


        the eye. [Archaic] --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Saying so, he abased his lance.       --Shelton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To cast down or reduce low or lower, as in rank, office,
        condition in life, or estimation of worthiness; to
        depress; to humble; to degrade.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased. --Luke
                                                    xiv. ll.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: To {Abase}, {Debase}, {Degrade}. These words agree in
          the idea of bringing down from a higher to a lower
          state. Abase has reference to a bringing down in
          condition or feelings; as, to abase the proud, to abase
          one's self before God. Debase has reference to the
          bringing down of a thing in purity, or making it base.
          It is, therefore, always used in a bad sense, as, to
          debase the coin of the kingdom, to debase the mind by
          vicious indulgence, to debase one's style by coarse or
          vulgar expressions. Degrade has reference to a bringing
          down from some higher grade or from some standard. Thus,
          a priest is degraded from the clerical office. When used
          in a moral sense, it denotes a bringing down in
          character and just estimation; as, degraded by
          intemperance, a degrading employment, etc. "Art is
          degraded when it is regarded only as a trade."
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  abase
       v : cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of; "He humiliated his
           colleague by criticising him in front of the boss" [syn:
           {humiliate}, {mortify}, {chagrin}, {humble}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  34 Moby Thesaurus words for "abase":
     abash, bring down, bring low, bump, bust, cast down, cower, cringe,
     crush, debase, degrade, demean, demote, deplume, diminish,
     disgrade, displume, downgrade, dump, dump on, fawn, grovel, humble,
     humiliate, lower, put down, reduce, set down, sink, strip of rank,
     take down, toady, trip up, truckle