abashed

UK/əˈbæʃt/

adjectiveC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — bashful sits at #7,576neutral

Abashed means embarrassed and put out of countenance. He looked abashed.

It suggests being caught out rather than shy, which is what separates it from awkward. Unabashed is now far commoner than abashed and means shameless.

Definitions of abashed

1adjectiveabashedEmbarrassed and put out of countenance.C2
“He stood abashed in the doorway with the wrong flowers.”

abashed is a quality.

← Vocabulary

abashed

UK/əˈbæʃt/

adjectiveC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — bashful sits at #7,576neutral

Abashed means embarrassed and put out of countenance. He looked abashed.

It suggests being caught out rather than shy, which is what separates it from awkward. Unabashed is now far commoner than abashed and means shameless.

Definitions of abashed

1adjectiveabashedEmbarrassed and put out of countenance.C2
“He stood abashed in the doorway with the wrong flowers.”

abashed is a quality.