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).
She is an unabashed supporter of the president's policies. unabashed by their booing and hissing, he continued with his musical performance
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This issue was built around residences that offer respite from the routine: homes that are in harmony with their environment and the rhythms of their inhabitants, and that offer an unabashed sense of fantasy and locale.—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
Word History
Etymology
Middle English unabaiste, from un- + abaiste, past participle of abaissen, abaishen to abash
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