What does abjection mean?
Abjection refers to the condition of being brought extremely low — a state of degradation, humiliation, or utter wretchedness. It derives from the Latin abicere, meaning 'to throw down' or 'cast away', and carries strong connotations of servility, misery, and loss of dignity. In ordinary usage it describes people or circumstances reduced to desperate lowliness, as in the abjection of the destitute. The word gained renewed prominence through the work of French theorist Julia Kristeva, who used 'abjection' to describe the psychological act of casting out whatever the self finds repulsive in order to define its own boundaries. Because of this dual life — as a vivid term for human misery and as a technical concept in critical theory — abjection remains most at home in literary, philosophical, and academic contexts rather than casual conversation.
The state of being degraded, humiliated, or reduced to utter wretchedness; extreme lowliness or misery.
"She described the abjection of refugees forced to beg for bread."
Formal register; often paired with abstract nouns like despair or misery.
In psychoanalytic and literary theory, the act or condition of casting off what is repulsive to the self in order to constitute identity.
"Kristeva's Powers of Horror examines abjection as the mechanism by which the subject expels the unclean."
Almost exclusively academic usage, following Julia Kristeva's theorization.
Rarely pluralized; used mainly when referring to multiple distinct instances or acts of abjection, especially in theoretical writing.
"The memoir catalogues the many abjections the author suffered in exile."
The word 'abjection' literally means a 'throwing down' — from Latin abicere, to cast away — which is why philosophers like Kristeva used it to describe how we psychologically 'cast out' whatever disgusts us.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of abjection
Abjection comes from Latin abicere (to cast down or throw away), formed from ab- ('away') plus iacere ('to throw'). It entered English via Old French in the late medieval period, with its modern noun form established by the early 17th century. It shares this root with the adjective abject and with words built on iacere such as trajectory and inject.
Related word forms
How abjection is actually used
Formal and literary in register; rare in everyday speech. The everyday sense connotes profound degradation or servility, while the theoretical sense belongs almost entirely to academic writing on psychoanalysis and literature.
Easily confused with abjection
An objection is a formal expression of disapproval or opposition, whereas abjection is a state of degradation or utter wretchedness.
Abject is the adjective describing something degraded or hopeless, while abjection is the noun denoting that state itself.