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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of subvert
Emotionally charged, visceral and immersive, the new sequel 28 Years Later subverts expectations in many ways, not least by making a 12-year-old boy — Spike, played with a poignant balance of vulnerability and resilience by terrific newcomer Alfie Williams — the indisputable protagonist.
—
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025
More broadly, critics have described spy fiction as an inherently conservative genre, for the spy’s role is to guard the existing order against those who would subvert it.
—Rav Grewal-Kök
june 16, Literary Hub, 16 June 2025
And yet, writer/director Celine Song subverts it all — and that’s the point.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 16 June 2025
There is always the wide-brim sun hat, which brings a real level of drama and panache to every occasion—and can be subverted from its saccharine ways—just look at how Alessandro Michele paired his at Valentino with a pair of groovy trousers and an opulent cropped jacket on the runway.
—Laia Garcia-Furtado, Vogue, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for subvert
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025
More broadly, critics have described spy fiction as an inherently conservative genre, for the spy’s role is to guard the existing order against those who would subvert it.
—Rav Grewal-Kök
june 16, Literary Hub, 16 June 2025
And yet, writer/director Celine Song subverts it all — and that’s the point.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 16 June 2025
There is always the wide-brim sun hat, which brings a real level of drama and panache to every occasion—and can be subverted from its saccharine ways—just look at how Alessandro Michele paired his at Valentino with a pair of groovy trousers and an opulent cropped jacket on the runway.
—Laia Garcia-Furtado, Vogue, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subvert
Verb
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Customer service was once rated among the highest in the American Customer Satisfaction Index – until relentless budget cuts started to degrade it.—
Teresa Ghilarducci,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
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In March, the US carried out extensive strikes on Yemen to degrade the group’s military capabilities.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
6 July 2025
Verb
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Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is 86 years-old and his political power is weakened following the short war with Israel.—
Jackie Northam,
NPR,
9 July 2025
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The first-quarter boom in U.S. trade is weakening, with merchandise trade somewhat atypically declining for the second straight month, according to my analysis of the the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.—
Ken Roberts,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Some have been corrupted by money and power, betraying each other as readily as the criminals do.—
Joan MacDonald,
Forbes.com,
9 July 2025
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Parliament has been corrupted by agents of a genocidal foreign power.—
Greg Wehner,
FOXNews.com,
7 July 2025
Verb
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In September 2024, the same month as the pager attack and assassination of Hezbollah’s leader, Israel launched the most extensive campaign of airstrikes in the air force’s history hitherto, destroying much of Hezbollah’s strategic surface-to-surface missile stockpiles.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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This is the signature style of Russian killers — to destroy life by all methods at their disposal.—
Anders Hagstrom,
FOXNews.com,
30 June 2025
Verb
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Then two of his classmates did something magical. 'And I was humiliated again' The story Griffin started to tell began in first grade just after his family moved from one part of his suburban New York town to another, and Griffin was the new kid in school.—
Brad Schmitt,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
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Why risk thousands of dollars to be humiliated and possibly denied entry?—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Verb
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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
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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
Verb
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Prior to foreign hunters visiting Uruguay and providing a financial incentive to keep the birds’ populations healthy, ducks were often poisoned en masse because they were seen as little more than crop raiders.—
Chris Dorsey,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Has sports gambling poisoned the relationship between athletes and fans?—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Wayne’s share could now be worth between $75 billion and $300 billion, thanks to the company’s current $3 trillion market cap (his shares would have likely been diluted thanks to new investors and public offering).—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 July 2025
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For many businesses, staying competitive means achieving scale—not to dilute their unique value but to enhance it.—
Frank Sorrentino,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subvert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subvert. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
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