as in degraded
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 bastardized
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastardized
Verb
-
His moves to West Ham United and Milan have badly degraded the 33-year-old’s stock.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The war has degraded Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.—
Valerie Morkevicius,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
However, what the young Valdi captures on these early scenes is the sense that whatever love Michael had for music and performance had become immediately corrupted.—
Paul A. Thompson,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The following weekend, on Easter Sunday, the final boss of the tier — L’ura, a being made of pure light corrupted by the void (although viewers called it a wind chime) — is still alive.—
Sandra McDonald,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Constitution has been perverted in ways by administrations on both sides of the aisle to facilitate military action.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Organized sports can easily be perverted.—
Louisa Thomas,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
There are parts of his past that he’s really subverted, some quite painful but undeniable on his part.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Whenever his work started to become familiar to his viewers, Chan subverted expectations and made something new.—
Dawn Chan,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This has been a story of unforeseen incidents, such as the unnoticed approach of the storm and the capsizing in front of high cliffs that prevented us from swimming ashore before the cold water had weakened us.—
Jim Hoagland,
Outdoor Life,
30 Apr. 2026
-
For Caracas, the engagement offers a chance to attract foreign capital and revive industries weakened by years of mismanagement and sanctions.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Communities across Florida, especially Black and brown voters, LGBTQ Floridians, and young people, will see their voices diluted.—
Jon Harris Maurer,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 May 2026
-
When those districts still diluted Black voting strength, activists returned to court.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 May 2026
Verb
-
Who cares about the fact that her friend cheated when her child was poisoned by her husband and her father?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Weinstein’s lawyers have argued that his New York conviction last year was poisoned by bad blood among jurors.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This new norm deteriorated in Obama’s second term, when a series of individuals climbed FDR’s low fence, including one who popped through the mansion’s main door in 2014.—
Neil Flanagan,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
-
The mammal’s health deteriorated as it became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters, and unsuccessful efforts to coax it toward deeper seas were live-streamed across the globe.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bastardized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardized. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
