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The Difference Between Abashed and Unabashed
To abash someone is to shake up their self-possession, as illustrated by Charlotte Brontë in her 1849 novel Shirley: "He had never blushed in his life; no humiliation could abash him." When you are unabashed you make no apologies for your behavior (nor do you attempt to hide or disguise it), but when you are abashed your confidence has been thrown off and you may feel rather inferior or ashamed of yourself. English speakers have been using abashed to describe feelings of embarrassment since the 14th century, but they have only used unabashed (brazenly or otherwise) since the 15th century (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Examples of unabashed in a Sentence
Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2025
Lindal remains Libertyville’s unabashed defensive stopper.
—Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025
Combining political commentary with unabashed aesthetic pleasure, Wilding’s oeuvre both models new worlds and mounts critiques of the existing order of things.
—Emily Watlington, ARTnews.com, 4 Feb. 2025
Madison is also dating Joe Alwyn-skater-bro turned cinematographer-bro Mason, whose unabashed horniness brings out her flirtier side.
—Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Unabashed.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unabashed. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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