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
John Miltonabject 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
Did you know?
Abject comes from the Latin abjectus (meaning "downcast," "humble," or "sordid"), the past participle of the Latin verb abicere, meaning "to cast off." Its original meaning in English was "cast off" or "rejected," but it is now used to refer more broadly to things in a low state or condition. Abject shares with mean, ignoble, and sordid the sense of being below the normal standards of human decency and dignity.
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.
He offered an abject apology.
She thought he was an abject coward.
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.
He offered an abject apology.
She thought he was an abject coward.
Recent Examples on the Web
This fundamental work anchors a double presentation of works by Kai Althoff (German, born 1966) and Jana Euler (German, born 1982), two artists whose drawings, paintings and sculptures engage with abject imagery, often presenting delirious or complex emotional landscapes in their figuration.
—Erica Wertheim Zohar, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
It's been a long time since a movie took me from laughing to abject horror in five minutes flat.
—Ars Technica, 31 Oct. 2024
The agency has 11 food distribution centers for 1 million people in Gaza, more than half of whom UNRWA assesses to live below the abject poverty line of US$ 1.74 per person per day.
—Nadeen Ebrahim and Salma Arafa, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024
One in five children live in the most abject, dangerous, hopeless, back-breaking, gut-wrenching poverty any of us could imagine.
—Lizzie Logan, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for abject 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Erica Wertheim Zohar, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024
It's been a long time since a movie took me from laughing to abject horror in five minutes flat.
—Ars Technica, 31 Oct. 2024
The agency has 11 food distribution centers for 1 million people in Gaza, more than half of whom UNRWA assesses to live below the abject poverty line of US$ 1.74 per person per day.
—Nadeen Ebrahim and Salma Arafa, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024
One in five children live in the most abject, dangerous, hopeless, back-breaking, gut-wrenching poverty any of us could imagine.
—Lizzie Logan, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for abject
Dictionary Entries Near abject
Cite this Entry
“Abject.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abject. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share