What does "abash" mean?

1. (to embarrass or shame) to make someone feel ashamed or uncomfortable, especially by showing them they are wrong.

abash

US //əˈbæʃ// abash

1 to embarrass or shame (v.)
C2 Proficiency Literary

to make someone feel ashamed or uncomfortable, especially by showing them they are wrong.

to disconcert or discomfit someone, typically by provoking a sudden consciousness of error, inferiority, or guilt.

Example

The student was abashed when the teacher pointed out his mistake in front of the whole class.

Example

He stood abashed by the quiet dignity of her response, realizing that his aggressive questioning had been entirely uncalled for.

Teacher's tip

In modern English, this word is rare outside of literature; 'embarrassed' or 'ashamed' are the standard choices for daily communication.
- embolden
- reassure

Origin

Attested from 1303, as Middle English abaisen, abaishen, abashen (“lose one's composure, be upset”), from the later 14th-century also transitive "to make ashamed, to perplex or embarrass"; from Anglo-Norman abaïss, from Middle French abair, abaisser (“lose one's composure, be startled, be stunned”), from Old French esbaïr, (French ébahir), from es- (“utterly”) + baïr (“to astonish”), from Medieval Latin *exbadō, from ex- (“out of”) + bado (“I gape, yawn”), an onomatopoeic word imitating a yawn, see also French badaud (“rubbernecker”).

Usage

Transitive; most frequently encountered as the past participle 'abashed' acting as a predicative adjective.