abject

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: ab=ject

CIDE DICTIONARY

abject, a. [L. abjectus, p. p. of abjicere to throw away; ab + jacere to throw. See Jet a shooting forth.].

•  Cast down; low-lying.  [1913 Webster]

  "From the safe shore their floating carcasses
  And broken chariot wheels; so thick bestrown
  Abject and lost lay these, covering the flood."  [1913 Webster]
•  Degraded; servile; groveling; despicable; as, abject posture, fortune, thoughts.  [1913 Webster]

  "And banish hence these abject, lowly dreams."  [1913 Webster]
•  Sunk to a low condition; down in spirit or hope; miserable; -- of persons.  [1913 Webster]
•  Humiliating; degrading; wretched; -- of situations; as, abject poverty.  [PJC]

Syn. -- Mean; groveling; cringing; mean-spirited; slavish; ignoble; worthless; vile; beggarly; contemptible; degraded.

abject, v. t. [From Abject, a.].

 To cast off or down; hence, to abase; to degrade; to lower; to debase.  Donne.  [1913 Webster]

abject, n. 

 A person in the lowest and most despicable condition; a castaway.  [1913 Webster]
"Shall these abjects, these victims, these outcasts, know any thing of pleasure?"  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

abject, adj.
1 miserable, wretched.
2 degraded, self-abasing, humble.
3 despicable.

Derivative

abjectly adv. abjectness n.

Etymology

ME f. L abjectus past part. of abicere (as AB-, jacere throw)

THESAURUS

abject

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

ROGET THESAURUS

abject

Disrepute

N disrepute, discredit, ill repute, bad repute, bad name, bad odor, bad favor, ill name, ill odor, ill favor, disapprobation, ingloriousness, derogation, abasement, debasement, abjectness, degradation, dedecoration, a long farewell to all my greatness, odium, obloquy, opprobrium, ignominy, dishonor, disgrace, shame, humiliation, scandal, baseness, vileness, turpitude, infamy, tarnish, taint, defilement, pollution, stain, blot, spot, blur, stigma, brand, reproach, imputation, slur, crying shame, burning shame, scandalum magnatum, badge of infamy, blot in one's escutcheon, bend sinister, bar sinister, champain, point champain, byword of reproach, Ichabod, argumentum ad verecundiam, sense of shame, disgraced, blown upon, shorn of its beams, shorn of one's glory, overcome, downtrodden, loaded with shame, in bad repute, out of repute, out of favor, out of fashion, out of countenance, at a discount, under a cloud, under an eclipse, unable to show one's face, in the shade, in the background, out at elbows, down at the elbows, down in the world, inglorious, nameless, renownless, obscure, unknown to fame, unnoticed, unnoted, unhonored, unglorified, shameful, disgraceful, discreditable, disreputable, despicable, questionable, unbecoming, unworthy, derogatory, degrading, humiliating, infra dignitatem, dedecorous, scandalous, infamous, too bad, unmentionable, ribald, opprobrious, errant, shocking, outrageous, notorious, ignominious, scrubby, dirty, abject, vile, beggarly, pitiful, low, mean, shabby base, to one's shame be it spoken, Int, fie!, shame!, for shame!, proh pudor!, O tempora!, O mores!, ough!, sic transit gloria mundi!.

Servility

N servility, slavery, obsequiousness, subserviency, abasement, prostration, prosternation, genuflection, fawning, tuft- hunting, timeserving, flunkeyism, sycophancy, humility, sycophant, parasite, toad, toady, toad-eater, tufthunter, snob, flunky, flunkey, yes-man, lapdog, spaniel, lickspittle, smell-feast, Graeculus esuriens, hanger on, cavaliere servente, led captain, carpet knight, timeserver, fortune hunter, Vicar of Bray, Sir- Pertinax, Max Sycophant, pickthank, flatterer, doer of dirty work, ame damnee, tool, reptile, slave, courtier, beat, dead beat, doughface, heeler, homme de cour, sponger, sucker, tagtail, truckler, servile, obsequious, supple, supple as a glove, soapy, oily, pliant, cringing, abased, dough-faced, fawning, slavish, groveling, sniveling, mealy-mouthed, beggarly, sycophantic, parasitical, abject, prostrate, down on ones marrowbones, base, mean, sneaking, crouching, hat in hand, cap in hand.

Improbity

N improbity, dishonesty, dishonor, deviation from rectitude, disgrace, fraud, lying, bad faith, Punic faith, mala fides, Punica fides, infidelity, faithlessness, Judas kiss, betrayal, breach of promise, breach of trust, breach of faith, prodition, disloyalty, treason, high treason, apostasy, nonobservance, shabbiness, villainy, villany, baseness, abjection, debasement, turpitude, moral turpitude, laxity, trimming, shuffling, perfidy, perfidiousness, treachery, double dealing, unfairness, knavery, roguery, rascality, foul play, jobbing, jobbery, graft, bribery, venality, nepotism, corruption, job, shuffle, fishy transaction, barratry, sharp practice, heads I win tails you lose, mouth honor, dishonest, dishonorable, unconscientious, unscrupulous, fraudulent, knavish, disgraceful, wicked, false-hearted, disingenuous, unfair, one-sided, double, double- hearted, double-tongued, double-faced, timeserving, crooked, tortuous, insidious, Machiavelian, dark, slippery, fishy, perfidious, treacherous, perjured, infamous, arrant, foul, base, vile, ignominious, blackguard, contemptible, unrespectable, abject, mean, shabby, little, paltry, dirty, scurvy, scabby, sneaking, groveling, scrubby, rascally, pettifogging, beneath one, low-minded, low-thoughted, base-minded, undignified, indign, unbecoming, unbeseeming, unbefitting, derogatory, degrading, infra dignitatem, beneath one's dignity, ungentlemanly, ungentlemanlike, unknightly, unchivalric, unmanly, unhandsome, recreant, inglorious, corrupt, venal, debased, mongrel, faithless, of bad faith, false, unfaithful, disloyal, untrustworthy, trustless, trothless, lost to shame, dead to honor, barratrous, dishonestly, mala fide, like a thief in the night, by crooked paths, Int, O tempora!, O mores!, corruptissima respublica plurimae leges.