abase yourself to behave in a way that shows you accept that someone has complete power over you
- abasementnoun [uncountable]
a.bashed [not before noun]written
embarrassed or ashamed because you have done something wrong or stupidShe looked rather abashed.
a.bate [intransitive]
formal to become less strong or decreaseWe waited for the storm to abate.
ab.at.toir [countable]British English
a place where animals are killed for their meat - synonymslaughterhouse
ab.bess [countable]
a woman who is in charge of a convent (=place where a group ofnuns live)
ab.bey [countable]
a large church with buildings next to it where monks and nuns live or used to live
Fountains Ab·bey
an abbey, built in the 12th century, in North Yorkshire, England where Cistercian monks (=members of an all-male religious group) lived. It is now a ruin and is visited by many tourists.
Westminster Ab·bey
a very large gothic church in Westminster, London, first built in the 11th century. Almost all British kings and queens since William the Conqueror have been crowned in the Abbey and many famous people are buried there.
ab.bot [countable]
a man who is in charge of a monastery (=a place where a group ofmonks live)
ab.bre.vi.ate [transitive]
to make a word or expression shorter by not including letters or using only the first letter of each word - synonymshorten