Abject describes the most miserable, hopeless state imaginable. When something is abject, it's rock-bottom terrible, completely without dignity or hope.

Abject poverty means being so poor you lack even basic necessities like food, shelter, or clean water. Abject failure means failing so thoroughly and embarrassingly that there's no silver lining to find. Someone living in abject misery experiences suffering so complete they can barely see a way forward.

You'll often see abject paired with negative words: abject terror, abject despair, abject conditions. It's rarely used for small disappointments. When writers use abject, they're emphasizing just how completely awful something truly is.