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The Difference Between Abashed and Unabashed
To abash someone is to shake up their self-possession, as illustrated by Charlotte Brontë in her 1849 novel Shirley: "He had never blushed in his life; no humiliation could abash him." When you are unabashed you make no apologies for your behavior (nor do you attempt to hide or disguise it), but when you are abashed your confidence has been thrown off and you may feel rather inferior or ashamed of yourself. English speakers have been using abashed to describe feelings of embarrassment since the 14th century, but they have only used unabashed (brazenly or otherwise) since the 15th century (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Examples of unabashed in a Sentence
Amy Astley, Architectural Digest, 28 May 2025
Pope Francis was an unabashed critic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and repeatedly spoke out against Kirill’s close relationship with the Kremlin.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 23 May 2025
On display was his transactional approach to foreign policy, an unabashed drive for commercial deals — including with countries where his family has business interests — and a disregard for conventions and longstanding US foreign policy objectives.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 16 May 2025
An unabashed fan of autocrats all over the world, Trump has always favored Russia over Ukraine—even going so far as to blame Ukraine for Russia's invasion.
—Kevin Sabet, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for unabashed
Cite this Entry
“Unabashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unabashed. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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