abject

abject
adjective
ab·;ject ;ab-;jekt
Synonyms of abject
1
: sunk to or existing in a low state or condition : very bad or severe
living in abject poverty
to lowest pitch of abject fortune thou art fallen
—John Milton
abject failure
2
a
: cast down in spirit : servile, spiritless
a man made abject by suffering
an abject coward
b
: showing hopelessness or resignation
abject surrender
3
: expressing or offered in a humble and often ingratiating spirit
abject flattery
an abject apology
abjectly
;ab-;jek(t)-l;
ab-;jek(t)-
 adverb
abjectness
;ab-;jek(t)-n;s
ab-;jek(t)-
 noun


Did you know?
We’re sorry to say you must cast your eyes down to fully understand abject: in Middle English the word described those lowly ones who are rejected and cast out. By the 15th century, it was applied as it still is today to anything that has sunk to, or exists in, a low state or condition; in modern use it often comes before the words poverty, misery, and failure. Applied to words like surrender and apology, it connotes hopelessness and humility. The word’s Latin source is the verb abicere, meaning “to throw away, throw down, overcome, or abandon.” Like reject, its ultimate root is the Latin verb jacere, meaning “to throw.” Subject is also from jacere, and we’ll leave you with that word as a way to change the subject.

Synonyms
humble
servile
meek
Choose the Right Synonym for abject

mean, ignoble, abject, sordid mean being below the normal standards of human decency and dignity.

mean suggests small-mindedness, ill temper, or cupidity.

mean and petty satire
ignoble suggests a loss or lack of some essential high quality of mind or spirit.

an ignoble scramble after material possessions
abject may imply degradation, debasement, or servility.

abject poverty
sordid is stronger than all of these in stressing physical or spiritual degradation and abjectness.

a sordid story of murder and revenge
Examples of abject in a Sentence
… the time would come that no human being should be humiliated or be made abject.
—Katherine Anne Porter, The Never-Ending Wrong, 1977
… my critical intelligence sometimes shrivels to an abject nodding of the head.
—Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, May 1971
… nothing seemed to have changed at the Beehive across the years. The same pallid employees were visible in the same abject state of peonage, cringing under the whiplash of overseers.
—S. J. Perelman, Baby, It's Cold Inside, 1970
They live in abject misery.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The key moment in PSG’s journey to becoming European champions came immediately after the abject 3-1 defeat to Lorient and had Messi at its centre.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 28 June 2025
These complaints, however, are one in the same: a kind of abject judgment on what audiences deem as acceptable for a public figure.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 12 June 2025
They’re left with nothing other than abject fear about what comes next.
—Phil Hay, New York Times, 22 May 2025
For the most part, open-source projects weren’t evenly distributed across teams of volunteers; they were managed by at most a few individuals, who spent the bulk of their waking hours in abject thrall to a user-complaint queue.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 28 May 2025

Word History
Etymology
Middle English, "outcast, rejected, lowly," borrowed from Latin abjectus "downcast, humble, sordid," from past participle of abicere "to throw away, throw down, overcome, abandon," from ab- ab- + -icere, reduced form of jacere "to throw" — more at jet entry 3

First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of abject was in the 15th century
See more words from the same century