Abject
['æbdʒekt] or ['æbdʒɛkt]
Definition
(adj.) showing humiliation or submissiveness; 'an abject apology' .
(adj.) of the most contemptible kind; 'abject cowardice'; 'a low stunt to pull'; 'a low-down sneak'; 'his miserable treatment of his family'; 'You miserable skunk!'; 'a scummy rabble'; 'a scurvy trick' .
(adj.) most unfortunate or miserable; 'the most abject slaves joined in the revolt'; 'abject poverty' .
(adj.) showing utter resignation or hopelessness; 'abject surrender' .
Editor: Timmy--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Cast down; low-lying.
(a.) Sunk to a law condition; down in spirit or hope; degraded; servile; groveling; despicable; as, abject posture, fortune, thoughts.
(a.) To cast off or down; hence, to abase; to degrade; to lower; to debase.
(n.) A person in the lowest and most despicable condition; a castaway.
Inputed by Laura
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. Base, vile, mean, low, despicable, contemptible, beggarly, paltry, dirty, squalid, grovelling, pitiful, ignoble, degraded, worthless, poor, servile, slavish, menial, sneaking, sordid, shabby, scurvy, miserable, wretched, low-minded, base-minded, earth-born, earth-bred.
Inputed by Edna
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Degraded, outcast, miserable, vile, pitiable, worthless, despicable, groveling,fawning, squalid, base-minded, slavish, beggarly, servile, cringing, low,wretched, sordid
ANT:Honorable, dignified, eminent, exalted, esteemed, worthy, venerable, noble,princely, illustrious, independent, self-assertive, self-reliant, vain,arrogant, insolent, haughty
Typed by Carolyn
Definition
adj. cast away: mean: worthless: cowering: base.—n. an outcast.—ns. Abjec′tion Ab′jectness a mean or low state: baseness: degradation.—adv. Ab′jectly.
v.t. (obs.) to throw or cast down or away.
Editor: Patrick
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream that you are abject, denotes that you will be the recipient of gloomy tidings, which will cause a relaxation in your strenuous efforts to climb the heights of prosperity. To see others abject, is a sign of bickerings and false dealings among your friends.
Typed by Elbert
Examples
- This straightforward bullying was met by abject submission. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- They trailed off to the dealer, the handsome but abject young fellow hanging a little aside. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Then, what submission, what cringing and fawning, what servility, what abject humiliation! Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- The poor side of a debtor's prison is, as its name imports, that in which the most miserable and abject class of debtors are confined. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- His movements were graceful, yet curiously abject, slinking. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- That abject hypocrite, Pumblechook, nodded again, and said, with a patronizing laugh, It's more than that, Mum. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Miserable little propitiators of a remorseless Idol, how abject we were to him! Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- And if anything could have made him look more abject or more dismally ridiculous than before, it would have been his so displaying himself. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Well, well, then--Bill Sikes,' said the Jew, with abject humility. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- They were by no means abject slaves; in later Babylon their lives and property were protected by elaborate laws. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- But Mrs. Yeobright had well considered all that, and she only thought how best to make her visit appear to Eustacia not abject but wise. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- They are strong and hardy, but of a cowardly spirit, and, by consequence, insolent, abject, and cruel. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- It makes boys manly and courageous; and the very vices of an abject race tend to strengthen in them the opposite virtues. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- They are the sorriest beasts that breathe--the most abject--the most pitiful. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- A characteristic, but not exactly complimentary, congratulation, returned Laurie, still in an abject attitude, but beaming with satisfaction. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Those abject wretches--' 'Don't call names, Rokesmith,' said Mr Boffin. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I could say nothing in reply; for who could offer hope, or consolation, to the abject being before me? Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Mr. Bob Sawyer glanced at his friend with a look of abject apprehension, and once more cried, 'Come in. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Abject tears stood in its eyes, and stained the blotched red of its cheeks. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- The culprit was moved to a few abject tears by these words and their pathetic tone. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- Yet mine shall not be the submission of abject slavery. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Why should you crawl abject before the understanding of a flea? D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
Typed by Elbert