as in degrades
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
bastardize the art form by adapting it to popular taste
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Recent Examples of bastardizes
Additionally, adding the musical element further bastardizes this tale.
—
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastardizes
Verb
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Instead of following the usual low-energy breakdown, the material degrades more slowly through a higher-energy pathway.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Rising demand for biomass fuels also degrades watersheds and wildlife habitats as people go deeper into previously undisturbed areas, increasing pressure on ecosystems and the species that depend on them.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
One nanny will try to get to the bottom of it before all the partying, power and privilege corrupts her.—
Denise Petski,
Deadline,
21 Apr. 2026
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The criticism most often leveled at proposals to support journalism is that government money corrupts editorial independence, which is a very real concern.—
Julian Baron,
Baltimore Sun,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The story begins on a train, somewhat subverts the typical strangers-on-a-train narrative in which a chance encounter leads to a love story (that is, the Linklater version rather than the Hitchcock one).—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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The play subverts itself, never allowing an audience to gain a commanding foothill, even at the end when (suffice it to say) the watchers become the watched.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That inconsistency weakens the institution, erodes public trust, and leaves voters increasingly frustrated with both parties.—
Linh Tat,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
-
The anti-diversity law weakens community expression.—
Jon Harris Maurer,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 May 2026
Verb
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After hundreds to thousands of years, the feeding black hole or neutron star falls into the stellar core and destroys it, creating a luminous emission.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
8 May 2026
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Federal debt destroys wealth and impedes economic growth.—
Rose Evans
May 6,
Idaho Statesman,
6 May 2026
Verb
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Breaking from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and creating a new County department should not mean building another costly layer of bureaucracy that dilutes resources meant for people in crisis.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
4 May 2026
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Now, Perez said branches are leaving the union because of high turnover in retail banking, which dilutes the original union-supporting staff and allows the company to re-educate new hires with anti-union talking points.—
Chase Jordan
April 2,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In a new Instagram post shared on Tuesday, the composer behind the HBO show’s memorable soundtrack described an industry that debases its own art and the people who make it for the sake of consumerism.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
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Freddy Krueger debases the suburban American ideal through the dreams of teenagers in Nightmare on Elm Street.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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And the President doesn’t seem to mind if Vance humiliates himself running errands.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
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Later that season, Eric humiliates Bill in front of their Pierpoint colleagues by insulting his work quality and Bill dies from brain cancer.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bastardizes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardizes. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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