That Michele Bachmann was a cunning congresswoman was not in doubt. However, it was clear to all but her most rabid supporters that a President Bachmann would quickly lead the United States to abject ruin. Her campaign fizzled and she dissolved into obscurity.

What the country did not realize then, what the country knows well now —Bachmann was the harbinger of a much darker timeline in American history.


Adjective

  1. Sunk to a low condition; down in spirit or hope; degraded; servile; groveling; despicable; as, abject posture, fortune, thoughts.
  2. Obsolete: Cast down; low-lying.

Noun

  1. Obsolete: A person in the lowest and most despicable condition; a castaway.

Synonyms

beggarly, contemptible, cringing, degraded, groveling, ignoble, mean, mean-spirited, slavish, vile, worthless


Pronunciations

  • /ˈæb.d͡ʒɛkt/
  • /æbˈd͡ʒɛkt/
  • /ˈæb.d͡ʒɛkt/

Origin

From Middle English abiect (“outcast, wretched”), from Latin abiectus, past participle of abiciō (“to throw away, cast off, to reject”), from ab- (“away”) +‎ iaciō (“to throw”).


Notes

Nouns to which “abject” is often applied: poverty, fear, terror, submission, misery, failure, state, condition, apology, humility, servitude, manner, coward.


Verb (Transitive)

Obsolete: To cast off or down; hence, to abase; to degrade; to lower; to debase.


Pronunciations

  • /æbˈdʒɛkt/

Origin

From Middle English abjecten, derived from the adjective form.


Cite this Entry

Modern Language Association (MLA Style)

“Abject.” The Effin’ Word, The Effin’ Word, https://effinwords.com/dictionary/abject. Accessed 13 Oct. 2024.

The Effin’ Word, s.v. “abject”, accessed October 13, 2024, https://effinwords.com/dictionary/abject.

The Effin’ Word. (n.d.). Abject. In The Effin’ Word. Retrieved October 13, 2024, from https://effinwords.com/dictionary/abject


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