Abash

3 definitions found

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

  Abash \A*bash"\ ([.a]*b[a^]sh"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Abashed}
     ([.a]*b[a^]sht"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Abashing}.] [OE. abaissen,
     abaisshen, abashen, OF. esbahir, F. ['e]bahir, to astonish,
     fr. L. ex + the interjection bah, expressing astonishment. In
     OE. somewhat confused with abase. Cf. {Finish}.]
     To destroy the self-possession of; to confuse or confound, as


     by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, mistake, or
     inferiority; to put to shame; to disconcert; to discomfit.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           Abashed, the devil stood,
           And felt how awful goodness is.          --Milton.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           He was a man whom no check could abash.  --Macaulay.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: To confuse; confound; disconcert; shame.
  
     Usage: To {Abash}, Confuse, {Confound}. Abash is a stronger
            word than confuse, but not so strong as confound. We
            are abashed when struck either with sudden shame or
            with a humbling sense of inferiority; as, Peter was
            abashed by the look of his Master. So a modest youth
            is abashed in the presence of those who are greatly
            his superiors. We are confused when, from some
            unexpected or startling occurrence, we lose clearness
            of thought and self-possession. Thus, a witness is
            often confused by a severe cross-examination; a timid
            person is apt to be confused in entering a room full
            of strangers. We are confounded when our minds are
            overwhelmed, as it were, by something wholly
            unexpected, amazing, dreadful, etc., so that we have
            nothing to say. Thus, a criminal is usually confounded
            at the discovery of his guilt.
            [1913 Webster]
  
                  Satan stood
                  Awhile as mute, confounded what to say.
                                                    --Milton.
            [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  abash
       v : cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious [syn:
           {embarrass}]

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

  44 Moby Thesaurus words for "abash":
     abase, appall, astound, bewilder, bother, bring down, bring low,
     cast down, chagrin, confound, confuse, crush, debase, degrade,
     demean, diminish, discomfit, discompose, disconcert,
     discountenance, dismay, disturb, dump, dump on, embarrass, faze,
     flummox, humble, humiliate, lower, moider, mortify, perturb,
     pother, put down, put out, rattle, reduce, set down, take aback,
     take down, throw into confusion, trip up, upset