abash

Meanings

Verb

cause to be embarrassed; cause to feel self-conscious
To make ashamed; to embarrass; to destroy the self-possession of, as by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, mistake, or inferiority; to disconcert; to discomfit.
To lose self-possession; to become ashamed.

Origin / Etymology

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”).

Synonyms

abase, abash, bewilder, bring low, confound, confuse, daunt, debase, degrade, demean, depress, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, discountenance, dishearten, embarrass, faze, fluster, humble, humiliate, lower, mortify, put to shame, rattle, shake, shame, snub

Antonyms

abet, animate, buoy, cheer, countenance, dignify, embolden, encourage, honor, incite, inspirit, rally, reassure, uphold

Scrabble Score: 10

abash is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
abash is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
abash is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

abash is a valid Words With Friends word