A*base" (&adot;*bās"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Abased (&adot;*bāst");
p. pr. & vb. n.
Abasing.]
[F. abaisser, LL.
abassare, abbassare ; ad +
bassare, fr. bassus low. See Base, a.] 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 the proud, 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."
Hear it pronounced