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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Today’s batteries depend on scarce resources like lithium and cobalt and degrade over time.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Sep. 2025
-
These perform well at low to medium heat, but begin to degrade around 500 °F, potentially releasing harmful fumes that can pose health risks.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Those tactics are also used to generate funds meant to help the regime subvert international sanctions and develop its nuclear weapons programs, according to the US government.—
Nino Paoli,
Fortune,
14 Sep. 2025
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Consistently subverting audience expectations, Don’t Breathe features an incredibly twisted game of cat-and-mouse.—
Yasmeen Hamadeh,
PEOPLE,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The additional time exposed to harsh radiation is, not surprisingly, corrupting JunoCam's images.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The baffling Windows 11 update bug that corrupted SSDs now appears to be linked to storage drives running pre-release firmware.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some of the erosion of credibility, young American Jews across the country tell me, stems from those who insist all criticism of Israel is antisemitic, diluting the term's power.—
Andrew Weinstein,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
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In his interview with CNN, Metzger said those measures could include the government stepping in to dilute space corporations’ equity or creating some sort of universal basic income.—
Jackie Wattles,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Continually moving the goalposts or using testing to humiliate or control can cause relational harm.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
-
And Sacks, a PayPal Mafia member and veteran Silicon Valley investor, is just the sort of titan of industry this town routinely devours and humiliates — from Rex Tillerson to, well, Elon Musk.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
For decades, bartenders have been defaming the Mai Tai, debasing it, making and selling versions of the drink that were childish and incomplex, saccharine and flat.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
13 Sep. 2025
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Unlike bonds, which promise repayment of the primary investment at a future date, warranting demands for higher yields to offset inflation concerns, gold is a physical asset that cannot be debased by fiscal mismanagement or political interference.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Foreign powers such as Russia and China, which challenge America and its allies from Europe to the Middle East to Taiwan and the South China Sea, have long been accused of exploiting such divisions through disinformation campaigns that inflame tensions and weaken confidence in American governance.—
Amir Daftari,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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But around the equinoxes, the natural buffer weakens.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some are value-destroying black holes; others are relentless value creators.—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
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The first instance of NATO nations downing drones came last week, when Polish and Dutch fighters destroyed three Russian drones over Poland.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bastardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardize. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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