WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : A*base"
Part of Speech : v.t. [imp.&p.p. Abased; p.pr. & vb. n. Abasing.]
Etymology : [F. abaisser, LL. abassare, abbassare ; ad + bassare, fr. bassus low. See Base, a.]
Definition : 1. To lower or depress; to throw or cast down; as, to abase the eye. [Archaic] Bacon. Saying so, he abased his lance. Shelton.

2. To cast down or reduce low or lower, as in rank, office, condition in life, or estimation of worthiness; to depress; to humble; to degrade. Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased. Luke xiv. ll.

Syn. -- To Abase, Debase, Degrade. These words agree in the idea of bringing down from a higher to a lower state. Abase has reference to a bringing down in condition or feelings; as to abase one's self before God. Debase has reference to the bringing down of a thing in purity, or making it base. It is, therefore, always used in a bad sense, as, to debase the coin of the kingdom, to debase the mind by vicious indulgence, to debase one's style by coarse or vulgar expressions. Degrade has reference to a bringing down from some higher grade or from some standard. Thus, a priest is degraded from the clerical office. When used in a moral sense, it denotes a bringing down in character and just estimation; as, degraded by intemperance, a degrading employment, etc. "Art is degraded when it is regarded only as a trade."


Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913