BASTARDIZE Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

bastardize

verb

ˈba-stər-ˌdīz

Definition of bastardize

as in to degrade

to lower in character, dignity, or quality bastardize the art form by adapting it to popular taste

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 The events meant to bring us together, like the Super Bowl or March Madness, have been bastardized into vehicles for ruinous addiction. — MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025 Additionally, adding the musical element further bastardizes this tale. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for bastardize

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastardize

Verb

Users will likely notice if outputs degrade, just like Chinese systems attacking models would.

— Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 9 Sep. 2026
In 1963, Gloria Steinem went undercover for a journalism assignment as a Playboy bunny, exposing degrading working conditions that forced policy changes.

— Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of degrade

Verb

Bangladeshi cinema has been equally insistent on subverting patriarchal stereotypes.

— Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
The film’s procedural aspect ticks along just fine, holding the attention without subverting expectations, and carried by actors who, much like the detectives in this case, are ultra-capable professionals with no inclination to go rogue on us.

— Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of subvert

Verb

This may then seem like yet another story about how Trump has wrecked norms and corrupted the rule of law.

— James Surowiecki, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2026
Instead, in trying to explain what made both Murdoch and Lamb tick in those early days, Boyle and Graham show us just how intoxicating and corrupting this kind of success can be.

— Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of corrupt

Verb

But aside from the economic benefits, there have been concerns about the league diluting its talent pool by getting too big, too fast.

— Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
On international reach, Shergill says Indian humor does not need to be diluted to travel abroad.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of dilute

Verb

On a cold night in November 2011, in a field outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, a gang of thugs stormed a Soviet scientific research institute, beat and humiliated the staff and burned the place to the ground.

— Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
My husband was humiliated, he was degraded, and not able to defend himself.

— Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of humiliate

Verb

This rousing tribute to the free press, delivered by the son of a journalist, was followed by the world premiere of Danny Boyle’s Ink, a film about how the journalists at British tabloid The Sun ended up debasing our entire society.

— Nate Jones, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026
The bulk of these are in regions like Africa and South America, where governments have repeatedly debased national currencies, and prompted their citizens to seek out sturdier assets like Tether’s dollar and gold offerings instead.

— Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of debase

Verb

Dairy cows are producing less milk and birthing fewer or weakened calves.

— Vivian Song, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
Though Hurricane Marie continues to weaken in the southern Pacific Ocean — and is expected to remain hundreds of miles off the Southern California coastline — the region can still expect to feel some effects from the storm over the next few days.

— Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of weaken

Verb

After Israel destroyed Jenin refugee camp during the Second Intifada in 2002, a young girl looked into Mohammad Bakri’s camera and said that Palestinians would live proudly as eagles and die standing like lions.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
That’s because key refineries that produce it have been knocked offline or destroyed, both in Eastern Europe — where the Ukraine-Russia war still rages — and in the Middle East.

— Steve Kopack, NBC news, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of destroy

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bastard

bastardize

bastardized

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“Bastardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardize. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of bastardize

verb

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