as in degraded
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
bastardize the art form by adapting it to popular taste
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Recent Examples of bastardized
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
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
-
The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
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The federal lawsuit against poultry companies, filed in 2005 by former Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, alleged excessive poultry waste spread as fertilizer had degraded the watershed.—
Barbara Hoberock,
Oklahoman,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Because the Republican Party and the conservative movement have both been so deeply corrupted.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2026
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But, if the release of the Epstein files has accomplished anything, it’s been to demonstrate how, on both sides of the Atlantic, systems corrupted by money are ripe for reform.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
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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
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The court also found Yoon had subverted the constitutional order and abused his authority by ordering troops to storm parliament and arrest certain individuals including Lee Jae Myung, the liberal opposition leader at the time who is now South Korea’s president.—
Stella Kim,
NBC news,
19 Feb. 2026
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In Camps’ hands, a cable or crewneck is never simply just that — there’s a playfulness to her draping and cutouts, subverted by the juxtaposition of gossamer-like fine gauge underpinnings with cozier, enveloping sweaters.—
Ari Stark,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The lower target follows a yearslong property sector slump that sent home prices tumbling, weakened domestic consumption and investment confidence and led to massive job losses.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 Mar. 2026
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But Bradost said that the Kurdish parties were open to working with most Iranian political forces—just not the Islamic Republic, which is now too weakened to be a partner, or Reza Pahlavi, the son of the late shah of Iran, who has been publicly hostile to the Kurdish parties.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
4 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Once the first set of true leaves appears, begin fertilizing weekly with a water-soluble, organic fertilizer diluted to half strength.—
Barbara Gillette,
The Spruce,
27 Feb. 2026
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Then give it a monthly shot of liquid houseplant fertilizer, diluted to half strength, to replenish the nutrients after the flower show.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Other witnesses could include relatives of the defendant and her late husband, and friends of Eric Richins who have recounted phone conversations from the day prosecutors say he was first poisoned by his wife of nine years.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Feb. 2026
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Turns out, Chris lied about touching a stone mid-play and has quietly poisoned every victory and memory the team has enjoyed since.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Ties deteriorated after Canadian authorities alleged that India was involved in the killing of a Canadian Sikh activist near Vancouver in June 2023.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Feb. 2026
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The country’s overall box office has deteriorated sharply, with average weekly grosses falling to levels that have perplexed exhibitors and analysts alike.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bastardized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardized. Accessed 7 Mar. 2026.
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