as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
by insisting that she pay me for helping her, she subverted my noble desire to do a good deed without reward
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of subvert
But over the past few years, conservatives have used the committee as a personal tool to subvert and challenge GOP leaders.
—
Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2025
On the one hand, he has been accused of possibly subverting the rules to give his team an advantage over theirs.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
On view through October 18, the exhibition subverts traditional notions of perception, born from Calle’s bold takeover of the museum.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Much of how the show subverts expectation is through its cast — Will Lipton, Zendé Murdock, Axel Ellis, Jesse Golliher, and Jeremy Yun — a group of twenty-somethings hailing from across the country who, since their casting, have become a real band amid an industry rock resurgence.
—Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 10 Sep. 2025
On the one hand, he has been accused of possibly subverting the rules to give his team an advantage over theirs.
—Chris Branch, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025
On view through October 18, the exhibition subverts traditional notions of perception, born from Calle’s bold takeover of the museum.
—Natasha Gural, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Much of how the show subverts expectation is through its cast — Will Lipton, Zendé Murdock, Axel Ellis, Jesse Golliher, and Jeremy Yun — a group of twenty-somethings hailing from across the country who, since their casting, have become a real band amid an industry rock resurgence.
—Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subvert
Verb
-
Today’s batteries depend on scarce resources like lithium and cobalt and degrade over time.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Sep. 2025
-
These perform well at low to medium heat, but begin to degrade around 500 °F, potentially releasing harmful fumes that can pose health risks.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Foreign powers such as Russia and China, which challenge America and its allies from Europe to the Middle East to Taiwan and the South China Sea, have long been accused of exploiting such divisions through disinformation campaigns that inflame tensions and weaken confidence in American governance.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
-
But around the equinoxes, the natural buffer weakens.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The additional time exposed to harsh radiation is, not surprisingly, corrupting JunoCam's images.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The baffling Windows 11 update bug that corrupted SSDs now appears to be linked to storage drives running pre-release firmware.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Some are value-destroying black holes; others are relentless value creators.—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
The first instance of NATO nations downing drones came last week, when Polish and Dutch fighters destroyed three Russian drones over Poland.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Continually moving the goalposts or using testing to humiliate or control can cause relational harm.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
-
And Sacks, a PayPal Mafia member and veteran Silicon Valley investor, is just the sort of titan of industry this town routinely devours and humiliates — from Rex Tillerson to, well, Elon Musk.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
For decades, bartenders have been defaming the Mai Tai, debasing it, making and selling versions of the drink that were childish and incomplex, saccharine and flat.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Unlike bonds, which promise repayment of the primary investment at a future date, warranting demands for higher yields to offset inflation concerns, gold is a physical asset that cannot be debased by fiscal mismanagement or political interference.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Thousands of multivitamin bottles sold on Amazon and other websites have been recalled over a risk of serious injury or death by poisoning.—
Joel Thayer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
-
During World War II, Husseini became a Nazi collaborator, broadcasting propaganda into the Arab world, touring death camps with his friend Heinrich Himmler, recruiting SS divisions, and hatching a plot to poison Tel Aviv’s water supply.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Some of the erosion of credibility, young American Jews across the country tell me, stems from those who insist all criticism of Israel is antisemitic, diluting the term's power.—
Andrew Weinstein,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
-
In his interview with CNN, Metzger said those measures could include the government stepping in to dilute space corporations’ equity or creating some sort of universal basic income.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subvert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subvert. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share