All words

abject

Meaning

Lacking all self-respect; utterly miserable and degraded.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

After losing his job and his home, Tom found himself living in abject poverty. Each night he slept on a park bench and worried about his next meal. The cold and hunger made his life feel very bad, so different from the comfort he once knew.

He stared at the burned ruins of his shop, a symbol of his abject failure. Everything he had worked for was gone. There was no money left, and he had no idea how to start over again. His future looked impossibly bleak and severe.

After losing his job and apartment in the same week, Marcus found himself in abject poverty, sleeping in his car and skipping meals. He had hit rock bottom, with no money, no home, and no clear way forward. Every day felt like survival, nothing more.

After Marvin tried to make soup with toothpaste instead of salt, the dinner reached an abject state, so bad that even his dog ran away from the table. The smell was so severe the neighbors called asking if Marvin was starting a science experiment.

My hamster, Sir Squeakington, lives in a state of abject terror whenever the toaster pops. He freezes mid-chew, eyes wide, absolutely certain that the bread-launching monster has finally come for him. It's a very dramatic reaction for such a tiny, furry potato.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

After years of abject poverty, the family was finally able to afford a small but cozy apartment. The children's faces lit up with joy as they realized they no longer had to sleep on the cold, hard ground.

In the desolate wasteland, the survivors huddled together, their faces etched with abject misery. Their once-sturdy homes were reduced to rubble, their livelihoods shattered. Hunger gnawed at their stomachs, and the cold pierced their bones. The abject poverty they endured was a testament to the cruel fate that had befallen them, leaving them utterly broken and devoid of any semblance of hope.

The abject smell of decay filled the room, causing bile to rise in my throat. I stumbled over piles of rotting debris, my hands brushing against slimy walls. Shadows danced in the dim light, revealing twisted shapes that seemed to leer at me. A chill ran down my spine as I realized I was trapped in this abject place, surrounded by horrors beyond imagination. Desperation clawed at my chest as I searched for a way out, but the darkness seemed to swallow me whole, leaving me to face the abject terror that lurked within.

The desolate, abandoned house stood as a testament to abject neglect. Its once-ornate facade was now crumbling and covered in sinister shadows. The windows were boarded up, and the overgrown garden had become a breeding ground for decay. Inside, the air was thick with the stench of damp and dust, and the walls were covered in layers of peeling paint. It was a place where hope had withered away, leaving only an abyss of despair.

In the abject darkness of the dungeon, the prisoner shivered uncontrollably. The damp walls seemed to close in on him, their cold touch sending chills down his spine. His abject situation was made even worse by the constant hunger gnawing at his stomach. He longed for the warmth of the sun on his skin and the taste of a hearty meal. But in this dismal place, hope seemed like a distant memory. As he sat in the filth and despair, he vowed to never give up. For even in the most abject circumstances, a flicker of hope could still ignite a flame of resilience.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

After losing his job and his home in the same month, Mark struggled through a period of abject poverty. Each day showed him how bad things could get, as he searched for food and shelter and longed for some comfort to break his completely low state.

The investigation uncovered the camp's abject conditions. Prisoners suffered from extreme malnutrition and a lack of basic medical care. This severe neglect created a pervasive atmosphere of hopelessness and despair, a truly low state for any human being to endure.

The family's abject poverty was impossible to ignore. They had lost everything: their home, their savings, even their dignity. Now they lived in a crumbling shelter with no heat or running water, surviving on handouts from strangers who pitied their terrible circumstances.

After failing his diet for the tenth time, Greg stared at the empty pizza box and sighed, the abject state of his willpower clear for all to see—if anyone could see through the mountain of discarded donut wrappers surrounding his couch.

My ambitious attempt at a breakdance spin during the wedding reception ended not with applause, but in an abject tangle of limbs and spilled fruit punch. I lay there, a sticky monument to poor judgment, as the bride's grandmother calmly stepped over me for another slice of cake.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

After months of unemployment, Harold's circumstances had become abject. With overdue bills piling up and no prospect of stability, he felt himself slipping into a state of profound distress. Each rejection letter reinforced the sense of being trapped in a very bad and severe situation.

The scandal eviscerated his career, leaving him in an abject state. A pariah bereft of livelihood, his days became a protracted ordeal of solitude and penury, a bleak existence he endured within one squalid room.

The refugee camp existed in abject conditions that stripped away human dignity. Families huddled beneath tattered tarps, surrounded by fetid water and refuse. Disease proliferated unchecked, while children grew gaunt from malnourishment. The squalor seemed inescapable, trapping thousands in this wretched liminal space between survival and complete destitution.

After losing his wallet, stepping in gum, and accidentally calling his boss “mom” during a staff meeting, Gregory felt himself descend to an abject state, wallowing in the ignominy of his day with the melodrama of a Shakespearean protagonist abandoned by both fate and lunch.

Chef Antoine, known for his recondite culinary creations, stared at the charred briquette that was once toast. His attempt at breakfast was an abject failure, a culinary dénouement so ignominious his sous-chef had to avert his gaze, stifling a snicker into a folded serviette.

Difficulty

Advanced — Less frequent words that stretch an upper-level vocabulary.

Appears in

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