What does unabashed mean?
Unabashed means showing oneself without embarrassment, shame, or apology. It commonly describes someone who is comfortable expressing strong feelings, confident in their opinions, or unhesitating in their actions: a speaker might deliver an unabashed welcome, an audience might respond with unabashed delight, or a politician might make an unabashed admission. The adjective can also carry a critical edge when it suggests brazenness, insensitivity, or a refusal to consider how others might react. Its usual spelling has the prefix un- attached to abashed, a word meaning embarrassed or overwhelmed by shame. Unabashed is therefore closely related in meaning to unashamed and shameless, but it often emphasizes a lack of self-consciousness rather than deliberate moral disregard. The related adverb is unabashedly, as in “she smiled unabashedly,” and the noun is unabashedness. In everyday use, unabashed is especially effective for describing open, confident displays of emotion or enthusiasm.
adjectiveNot embarrassed or ashamed; openly and confidently showing one's feelings, actions, or opinions.
- Unembarrassed, self-assured, and openly expressive in one's feelings or behavior.
- Brazenly unapologetic or unconcerned about others' opinions, often with a mildly critical implication.
"She was unabashed in her enthusiasm for the new project."
"He greeted the criticism with unabashed confidence and offered a calm explanation."
"Her unabashed admission that she had ignored the warning caused some embarrassment."
Adding one little prefix turns a word about being embarrassed into its opposite: unabashed means not put to shame.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does unabashed come from?
Unabashed was formed in English by adding the negative prefix un- to abashed, a word meaning embarrassed or put to shame. Abashed comes through Middle English from Old French abaiss(i)er, meaning to lower or abase and, by extension, to confuse or shame, ultimately connected with Latin abas, “base” or “low.” The resulting adjective developed in early modern English and came to express the opposite of being abashed: open, self-assured, and unapologetic.
Related word forms
How unabashed is actually used
The word is generally formal and can be approving when it describes confidence, enthusiasm, or delight; it can be disapproving when it describes brazen or insensitive behavior.
Easily confused with unabashed
Unabashed means unembarrassed and self-assured, whereas abashed means embarrassed, confused, or put to shame.