ABASHED

abashed, chagrined, embarrassed

(adjective) feeling or caused to feel ill at ease or self-conscious or ashamed; “felt abashed at the extravagant praise”; “chagrined at the poor sales of his book”; “was embarrassed by her child’s tantrums”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

---

Adjective

abashed (comparative more abashed, superlative most abashed)

Embarrassed, disconcerted, or ashamed.

Verb

abashed

simple past tense and past participle of abash

Synonyms

• embarrassed

• ashamed

• shamefaced

• mortified

• humiliated

• taken aback

• disconcerted

• nonplussed

• discomfited

• discomposed

• perturbed

• confounded

• dismayed

• dumbfounded

• confused

• put out of countenance

• discountenanced

Source: Wiktionary

---

ABASH

A*bash", v.t. [imp. & p.p. Abashed; p.pr. & vb. n. Abashing.] Etym: [OE. abaissen, abaisshen, abashen, OF.esbahir, F. ébahir, to astonish, fr. L. ex + the interjection bah, expressing astonishment. In OE. somewhat confused with abase. Cf. Finish.]

Definition: To destroy the self-possession of; to confuse or confound, as by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, mistake, or inferiority; to put to shame; to disconcert; to discomfit. Abashed, the devil stood, And felt how awful goodness is. Milton. He was a man whom no check could abash. Macaulay.

Syn.

– To confuse; confound; disconcert; shame.

– To Abash, Confuse, Confound. Abash is a stronger word than confuse, but not so strong as confound. We are abashed when struck either with sudden shame or with a humbling sense of inferiority; as, Peter was abashed in the presence of those who are greatly his superiors. We are confused when, from some unexpected or startling occurrence, we lose clearness of thought and self-possession. Thus, a witness is often confused by a severe cross-examination; a timid person is apt to be confused in entering a room full of strangers. We are confounded when our minds are overwhelmed, as it were, by something wholly unexpected, amazing, dreadful, etc., so that we have nothing to say. Thus, a criminal is usually confounded at the discovery of his guilt. Satan stood Awhile as mute, confounded what to say. Milton.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

---