abash

C2+ Topic:Senses & Perception

US /əˈbæʃ/ UK /əˈbæʃ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make someone feel embarrassed or ashamed

Nothing could abash the brazen young salesman.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make someone feel... embarrass disconcert shame mortify discomfit fluster humiliate

Opposites

embolden reassure encourage compose

Word family

Derived forms abashedabashmentabashedly

Related forms bashful

Etymology

From Middle English abaschen, from Old French esbaïr ('to be astonished, gape'), from es- (Latin ex-, 'out') + baïr ('to gape, be amazed'), of imitative origin expressing astonishment.

esbaïr Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Senses & Perception

External links

# abash

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /əˈbæʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈbæʃ/

## Meanings
1. to make someone feel embarrassed or ashamed

## Examples
- Nothing could abash the brazen young salesman.

## Synonyms
- embarrass
- disconcert
- shame
- mortify
- discomfit
- fluster
- humiliate

## Antonyms
- embolden
- reassure
- encourage
- compose

## Derived Forms
- abashed
- abashment
- abashedly

## Related Forms
- bashful

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: esbaïr

## Etymology
From Middle English abaschen, from Old French esbaïr ('to be astonished, gape'), from es- (Latin ex-, 'out') + baïr ('to gape, be amazed'), of imitative origin expressing astonishment.

## AI Etymology
Abash comes from Middle English abaschen, from Old French esbaïr ('to be astonished, gape'), from es- (Latin ex-, 'out') + baïr ('to gape, be amazed'), of imitative origin expressing astonishment. The historical trail runs through Old French esbaïr. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means to make someone feel embarrassed or ashamed. Derived formations include abashed, abashment, abashedly; related forms include bashful.

## Topics
- Senses & Perception

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