as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
bastardize the art form by adapting it to popular taste
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
-
Israeli forces are expected to continue their campaign to eliminate remaining Hamas leaders and degrade the group's military capabilities.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 May 2025
-
Israel has significantly weakened Hezbollah over the past year, killing much of its top leadership and severely degrading its power through mass airstrikes.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
The chancellor’s attempt to seek your commission’s forgiveness years after deliberately avoiding your timely permission reads now like a cagey campaign to dodge his duties as steward of our knoll and subvert the relevant rule of law.—
Letters To The Editor,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 May 2025
-
Television ‘The Last of Us’ director on Ellie and Dina’s relationship: ‘This is not just a crush’ May 4, 2025 The stakes in Season 1 were very clear — get Ellie to where she can be used to make a cure — even if they were subverted in the end.—
Mary McNamara,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2025
Verb
-
To make matters worse, beyond unintentional biases, bad actors may corrupt AI technologies by feeding false or divisive information into AI training data.—
Corinne Post,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
-
In one poignant conversation, Hoover described how the GDs needed to corrupt our youth.—
Ronald S. Safer,
Chicago Tribune,
30 May 2025
Verb
-
Han and Li’s student-teacher relationship in particular is diluted and lacks necessary grounding, and there’s little compelling friction between the two masters to make up for it.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
28 May 2025
-
Follow label directions to dilute the concentrate before spraying.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
Simone Inzaghi really needs the win here — his Italian side finished one point behind Serie A champ Napoli and was humiliated by rival AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semifinal.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
-
And after Trump’s attempts to humiliate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, the lure of the White House is waning.—
Stephen Collinson,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025
Verb
-
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
Verb
-
Bias, inaccuracies and missing values can all weaken model reliability.—
Tor Constantino,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
-
Coercing democratic allies such as Canada or Denmark more broadly weakens trust in U.S. alliances; threatening Panama reawakens fears of imperialism throughout Latin America; crippling the U.S. Agency for International Development undercuts the United States’ reputation for benevolence.—
Robert O. Keohane,
Foreign Affairs,
2 June 2025
Verb
-
Another key feature of algae oil is its high smoke point of 535 degrees—the temperature at which oil begins to break down, release dangerous chemicals, and destroy its nutrients.—
Jonathan Purtell,
Verywell Health,
27 May 2025
-
During the week of my embed, the Russian military identified and destroyed a few of the Vampire pilots’ positions.—
Nataliya Gumenyuk,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bastardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardize. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share