Adjacent Words

Abject definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ABJECT', v.t. To throw away; to cast out. Obs.
AB'JECT, a. [L. abjectus, from abjicio, to throw away, from ab and jacio, to throw.]
1. Sunk to a low condition; applied to persons or things. Hence.
2. Worthless, mean, despicable, low in estimation, without hope or regard.
AB'JECT, n. A person in the lowest condition and despicable. Psalms 35.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: 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" [syn: abject, low, low-down, miserable, scummy, scurvy]
2: most unfortunate or miserable; "the most abject slaves joined in the revolt"; "abject poverty"
3: showing utter resignation or hopelessness; "abject surrender" [syn: abject, unhopeful]
4: showing humiliation or submissiveness; "an abject apology"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin abjectus, from past participle of abicere to cast off, from ab- + jacere to throw — more at jet Date: 15th century 1. sunk to or existing in a low state or condition <to lowest pitch of abject fortune thou art fallen — John Milton> 2. a. cast down in spirit ; servile, spiritless <a man made abject by suffering> b. showing hopelessness or resignation <abject surrender> 3. expressing or offered in a humble and often ingratiating spirit <abject flattery> <an abject apology> Synonyms: see mean • abjectly adverb • abjectness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 miserable, wretched. 2 degraded, self-abasing, humble. 3 despicable. Derivatives: abjectly adv. abjectness n. Etymology: ME f. L abjectus past part. of abicere (as AB-, jacere throw)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Abject Ab"ject, a. [L. abjectus, p. p. of abjicere to throw away; ab + jacere to throw. See Jet a shooting forth.] 1. Cast down; low-lying. [Obs.] From the safe shore their floating carcasses And broken chariot wheels; so thick bestrown Abject and lost lay these, covering the flood. --Milton. 2. Sunk to a law condition; down in spirit or hope; degraded; servile; groveling; despicable; as, abject posture, fortune, thoughts. ``Base and abject flatterers.'' --Addison. ``An abject liar.'' --Macaulay. And banish hence these abject, lowly dreams. --Shak. Syn: Mean; groveling; cringing; mean-spirited; slavish; ignoble; worthless; vile; beggarly; contemptible; degraded.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Abject Ab*ject", v. t. [From Abject, a.] To cast off or down; hence, to abase; to degrade; to lower; to debase. [Obs.] --Donne.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Abject Ab"ject, n. A person in the lowest and most despicable condition; a castaway. [Obs.] Shall these abjects, these victims, these outcasts, know any thing of pleasure? --I. Taylor.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

You use abject to emphasize that a situation or quality is extremely bad. Both of them died in abject poverty... This scheme was an abject failure. = total ADJ: usu ADJ n [emphasis] • abjectly Both have failed abjectly. ADV

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ab'-jekt: Only as a noun, and but once (Ps 35:15) for nekheh, literally, "smitten ones," i.e. "men of the lowest grade" (Hengstenberg, Delitzsch), "the rabble," defined by the succeeding clause as those of such inferior station that they were unknown.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Base, vile, mean, low, despicable, contemptible, beggarly, paltry, dirty, squalid, grovelling, pitiful, ignoble, degraded, worthless, poor, servile, slavish, menial, cringing, sneaking, sordid, shabby, scurvy, miserable, wretched, low-minded, base-minded, earth-born, earth-bred.

Moby Thesaurus

abominable, accepting, acquiescent, agreeable, apologetic, arrant, assenting, atrocious, backscratching, base, beggarly, bootlicking, cheesy, complaisant, compliable, compliant, complying, consenting, contemptible, contrite, cowering, crawling, cringing, crouching, crummy, debased, degraded, depraved, despicable, dirty, disgusting, execrable, fawning, flagrant, flattering, footlicking, foul, fulsome, grave, gross, groveling, hangdog, heinous, humble, humble-minded, humble-spirited, humbled, humblehearted, ingratiating, little, low, low-down, lumpen, mangy, mealymouthed, mean, measly, meek, meek-minded, meek-spirited, meekhearted, melted, miserable, monstrous, nefarious, nondissenting, nonresistant, nonresisting, nonresistive, obedient, obeisant, obnoxious, obsequious, odious, on bended knee, paltry, parasitic, passive, penitent, penitential, penitentiary, petty, poky, poor, poor in spirit, prostrate, rank, repentant, reptilian, resigned, scabby, scrubby, scruffy, scummy, scurvy, servile, shabby, sheepish, shoddy, small, sniveling, softened, sponging, squalid, submissive, subservient, supine, sycophantic, timeserving, toadeating, toadying, toadyish, touched, truckling, unassertive, uncomplaining, underfoot, unmentionable, unresistant, unresisting, vile, wretched