as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
bastardize the art form by adapting it to popular taste
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Recent Examples of bastardize
Over the years, though, the cocktail has become bastardized into a sugary drink containing all sorts of fruit juices and sweeteners, causing it to be denegrated alongside the likes of Long Island Ice Teas and Strawberry Daiquiris.
—
Tori Latham, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2023
These white people in blackface entertained the masses with stereotypes of Blackness, bastardizing the Black identity in the process.
—Tayo Bero, refinery29.com, 4 Apr. 2023
Society, this week, also bastardized two wholesome childhood fixtures, SunnyD and Girl Scout Cookies.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 10 Mar. 2023
Videos that bastardize neighborhood names, or cluelessly treat storied establishments like new discoveries.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2022
To bastardize the bands Pablo Cruise or Yes, love will always find a way.
—Outside Online, 13 Feb. 2021
What does a profession license mean if you’re allowed to bastardize the court system that way.
—Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2020
As a carcass decomposes, the bacteria in the body itself runs rampant, producing its signature stink and bastardizing the soil’s microbiome.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 21 Jan. 2020
The initial fear that the band was going to make a killing on wading-pool-deep music and basically bastardize country music was way off-base.
—Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, 8 Jan. 2020
Tori Latham, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2023
These white people in blackface entertained the masses with stereotypes of Blackness, bastardizing the Black identity in the process.
—Tayo Bero, refinery29.com, 4 Apr. 2023
Society, this week, also bastardized two wholesome childhood fixtures, SunnyD and Girl Scout Cookies.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 10 Mar. 2023
Videos that bastardize neighborhood names, or cluelessly treat storied establishments like new discoveries.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2022
To bastardize the bands Pablo Cruise or Yes, love will always find a way.
—Outside Online, 13 Feb. 2021
What does a profession license mean if you’re allowed to bastardize the court system that way.
—Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2020
As a carcass decomposes, the bacteria in the body itself runs rampant, producing its signature stink and bastardizing the soil’s microbiome.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 21 Jan. 2020
The initial fear that the band was going to make a killing on wading-pool-deep music and basically bastardize country music was way off-base.
—Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, 8 Jan. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastardize
Verb
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Mirrors have poor reflectivity and degrade fast, while normal lenses absorb XUV light and stretch the attosecond pulses, blurring their precision.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Nov. 2025
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Wallin points out that half of the world’s GDP, amounting to $44 trillion, is directly dependent on nature, yet the essential systems that support economic stability continue to be degraded.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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By subverting trust and building paranoia to screeching highs, The Thing exploits some of humanity's worst traits.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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The directors spent over eight years tracking Shahverdi’s efforts to subvert economic systems and transform local attitudes.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And along the way enrich himself and partner with some of the world's most dangerous and violent drug traffickers and corrupting his country.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Trump has thoroughly corrupted the Justice Department, but its selective prosecutions of his foes have been thwarted by judges and, more strikingly, by grand juries.—
Michelle Goldberg,
Mercury News,
30 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Bleach should never be used on a mattress, even if it's diluted.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Without the requirement to protect majority-minority districts, Republicans would have far greater freedom to redraw congressional maps in ways that dilute the voting power of Black and other minority communities—areas that tend to favor Democrats.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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And videotaping it to humiliate them.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Dec. 2025
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She had never been arrested before and felt humiliated when her mugshot was plastered all over the news after her arrest.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Since the summer of 2025, antiforeigner sentiment—fueled by false or exaggerated claims about migrant workers committing crimes, foreign residents draining welfare coffers, or international tourists debasing Japanese culture—has taken hold in Japanese politics.—
GRACIA LIU-FARRER,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Nov. 2025
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But the story of Hilma af Klint lacks the blunt clarity of balance sheets, and her afterlife suggests that money, far from debasing art, is what pins it to the world.—
Alice Gregory,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Verb
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With some estimates putting wave heights as much as 35 feet, weakened hatch covers would have been vulnerable to such waves.—
Stephen J. Beard,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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The years of horrific violence have weakened Sudan, plunging its institutions into chaos and making its population more vulnerable and poorer.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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So, automation can be used to destroy labor or workers’ power, but it can also be used in the opposite direction.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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Homes, businesses and synagogues were destroyed.—
Arizona Republic,
AZCentral.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bastardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardize. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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