debase

verb

de·​base di-ˈbās 

dē-

debased; debasing; debases

transitive verb

1

: to lower in status, esteem, quality, or character

debased himself by lying to his supporters

… a constitutional amendment that would allow Congress to outlaw debasing the American flag.

—Time

This is not to say that you should be prepared to debase camping standards.

—The Scout Leader's Handbook

2

a

: to reduce the intrinsic value of (a coin) by increasing the base-metal content

b

: to reduce the exchange value of (a monetary unit)

debasement

di-ˈbās-mənt 

dē-

noun

debaser

di-ˈbā-sər 

dē-

noun

Did you know?

Debase is often used to talk about someone's lowered status or character. People are constantly blustering about the debased tastes of the ordinary American, and especially the debased music of America's youth. A commentator might observe that both candidates had managed to debase themselves by the end of a political campaign. Debase has a special meaning in economics: From time to time, governments find that they need to quietly debase their countries' currency by reducing the percentage of valuable metal in its coins; if they don't, the metal may become more valuable than the coin and people will begin melting the coins down and reselling the metal.

Synonyms

• degrade
• humiliate
• subvert
• weaken
• demean
• corrupt
• debauch
• deteriorate
• dilute
• destroy
• poison
• pervert

Choose the Right Synonym for debase

debase, vitiate, deprave, corrupt, debauch, pervert mean to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character.

debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect.

a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship

deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew

pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

Examples of debase in a Sentence

The governor debased himself by lying to the public.

The holiday has been debased by commercialism.

Recent Examples on the Web

Read More: The Battle for Our Memory Is the Battle for Our Country But debasing our history through censorship and ideological cherry-picking insults the memory of the nine saints who were murdered at Mother Emanuel, desecrating its sacred space all over again. —Kevin Sack, Time, 3 June 2025

An office that demands wisdom and restraint is now debased with churlish impulsivity, rambling incoherency and overt grift. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2025

At its most depraved level, this is get-rich-quick music; these artist-grifters are like sycophantic workers debasing themselves for the Big Boss Algorithm. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 21 May 2025

The site just becomes a generically unpleasant way of showing Mike debasing himself to meet the escalating prices. —Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for debase

• abase
• airspace
• apace
• backspace
• biface
• birthplace
• blackface
• boldface
• bookcase
• braincase
• briefcase
• carcase

Kids Definition

debase

verb

de·​base di-ˈbās 

debased; debasing

: to lower in character, dignity, quality, or value

debasement

-mənt 

noun

debaser noun