Abject

utterly hopeless, miserable, humiliating, or wretched:
abject poverty.
contemptible; despicable; base-spirited:
an abject coward.
shamelessly servile; slavish.
Obsolete. cast aside.
Contemporary Examples

It has dragged Pakistan into disastrous confrontations short of war, which ended in abject retreat before India’s superior power.
David’s Book Club: Pakistan, Between Mosque and Military David Frum April 22, 2012

No, this brief delay must be a sign that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act is destined to result in abject failure.
The GOP Is Terrified Obamacare Could Be a Success Jon Favreau July 10, 2013

Unemployment has soared and one-third of the population lives in abject poverty, says John Ging, the UNRWA office director.
Life After the Bombs Judith Miller October 15, 2009

The girls helped their mothers prepare a simple meal as the men smoked outside and reflected on their abject state.
ISIS Robs Christians Fleeing Its Edict in Mosul: Convert, Leave, or Die Andrew Slater July 21, 2014

But standing in their way is mighty Brazil, for whom anything less than a sixth success would go down as an abject failure.
World Cup Primer Joshua Robinson June 11, 2010

Historical Examples

The abject common-sense of his ex-fiance could be borne with perhaps more philosophy.
The Confounding of Camelia Anne Douglas Sedgwick

Better live, to write your own tale than be the abject one to another.
Punchinello, Vol. 1, No. 7, May 14, 1870 Various

Despite his subsequent surrender to Krishna, and abject worship of him, Indra is still incensed and bluntly refuses.
The Loves of Krishna in Indian Painting and Poetry W. G. Archer

“Don’t you say one word,” she answered, with an air of abject confession.
Tiverton Tales Alice Brown

Just you watch him, abject as a yaller dawg, squirming and writhing and crawling to meet the only gentleman in that country.
A Man in the Open Roger Pocock

adjective
utterly wretched or hopeless
miserable; forlorn; dejected
indicating humiliation; submissive: an abject apology
contemptible; despicable; servile: an abject liar
adj.

early 15c., “cast off, rejected,” from Latin abiectus, past participle of abicere “to throw away, cast off; degrade, humble, lower,” from ab- “away, off” (see ab-) + iacere “to throw” (past participle iactus; see jet (v.)). Figurative sense of “downcast, brought low” first attested 1510s. Related: Abjectly; abjectness.