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
Our ideals have been bastardized.
—
William Mersey, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
Short’s personality and complexity, attributes long discarded as her life became bastardized, stand in stark contrast to the inhumanity of her death.
—Nathan Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
In both, to bastardize a saying, the play’s the thing.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 30 Nov. 2025
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
Society, this week, also bastardized two wholesome childhood fixtures, SunnyD and Girl Scout Cookies.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 10 Mar. 2023
William Mersey, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2026
Short’s personality and complexity, attributes long discarded as her life became bastardized, stand in stark contrast to the inhumanity of her death.
—Nathan Smith, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2026
In both, to bastardize a saying, the play’s the thing.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 30 Nov. 2025
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
Society, this week, also bastardized two wholesome childhood fixtures, SunnyD and Girl Scout Cookies.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 10 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastardize
Verb
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Damaged pans may be harder to use safely and may continue degrading with heat, cleaning and metal utensils.—
Ryan Brennan
June 2,
Sacbee.com,
3 June 2026
-
Years of degrading the Star Wars legacy with terrible, unwatchable streaming series and the disappointing end of the previous trilogy have taken their toll.—
Ian Miller OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
2 June 2026
Verb
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In a blistering dissent, the court’s Democratic justices said the ruling opened the door to allowing Louisiana lawmakers to subvert the will of voters.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2026
-
His work was often political, with his cartoonish art prints and couture creations subverting racist iconography from American history.—
Bianca Betancourt,
CNN Money,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
-
Systems must remain safe not only when components fail naturally, but when data is corrupted, communication is interrupted or execution is violated.—
John Wall,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
There is an effort to dilute the high-pH water in ditches that was contaminated with the large amount of chemicals that spilled, officials said.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC news,
29 May 2026
-
That case argued that Louisiana lawmakers illegally diluted Black voting power by failing to draw a second majority-Black district in a state where Black voters account for roughly one third of the population.—
Sam Gringlas,
NPR,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Linda Hyde, a Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards member since 2014, boarded her Southwest flight on May 21 at Miami International Airport humiliated and angry.—
Ella Moore
Updated May 29,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
-
Strength is not the capacity to humiliate someone with less power.—
Marc Brackett,
Hartford Courant,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
Blanche is debasing himself and the law in this shameful pursuit.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
30 Apr. 2026
-
More than fifty golfers were willing to debase themselves in order to grab some of the Saudis’ cash.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Reserve Bank of Australia will likely focus on the strength of private demand before factoring in the conflict, alongside inflation risks stemming from weak productivity and rising unit labor costs, according to Stenner, who expects household consumption to weaken in the second quarter.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
3 June 2026
-
Critics counter that scarcity alone does not guarantee value if investor demand weakens.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Fueled by large stocks of critically dry vegetation and extreme winds, the fires killed 31 people, destroyed nearly 12,000 homes, and forced over 150,000 evacuations.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
31 May 2026
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But satellite images reviewed by CNN show how Iran has used simple equipment such as bulldozers and dump trucks to counter those costly campaigns — suggesting that Tehran’s missile capabilities can’t be destroyed just by targeting tunnel entrances, experts said.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bastardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardize. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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