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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

abject

/ˈæbˌd͡ʒɛkt/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does abject mean?

adjective

  1. Existing in or sunk to a low condition, position, or state; contemptible, despicable, miserable.
  2. Complete; downright; utter.
  3. Of a person: cast down in hope or spirit; showing utter helplessness, hopelessness, or resignation; also, grovelling; ingratiating; servile.
More meanings (6)

adjective

  1. Marginalized as deviant.
  2. (rare) Lower than nearby areas; low-lying.

noun

  1. A person in the lowest and most despicable condition; an oppressed person; an outcast; also, such people as a class.

verb

  1. (archaic) To cast off or out (someone or something); to reject, especially as contemptible or inferior.
  2. (archaic) To cast down (someone or something); to abase; to debase; to degrade; to lower; also, to forcibly impose obedience or servitude upon (someone); to subjugate.
  3. (archaic) Of a fungus: to (forcibly) give off (spores or sporidia).

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈæbˌd͡ʒɛkt/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other dictionary pronunciations

/æbˈd͡ʒɛkt/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

All that their most abject compliances could obtain from him was a toleration of the exercise of their laws.
Alexander Hamilton; John Jay; James MadisonThe Federalist PapersProject Gutenberg ebook #18
However, tens of millions of villagers, particularly in the south, have not benefited from the green revolution and live in abject poverty.
United States. Central Intelligence AgencyThe 1990 CIA World FactbookProject Gutenberg ebook #14
More book examples (3)
Disgrace not so your king, That he should be so abject, base, and poor, To choose for wealth and not for perfect love.
William ShakespeareThe Complete Works of William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg ebook #100
When Nimrod heard his tale, abject fear seized upon him, and he asked his counsellors and princes what to do with the lad.
Louis GinzbergThe Legends of the Jews — Volume 1Translated by Henrietta SzoldProject Gutenberg ebook #1493
As soon as a tribe has a recognised leader, disobedience becomes a crime, and even abject submission is looked at as a sacred virtue.
Charles DarwinThe Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to SexProject Gutenberg ebook #2300