1
as in reducing
to diminish the price or value of
a glutted market cheapened cranberries to the point where they were selling for less than what it cost to grow them
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in degrading
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
a politician who would cheapen herself by caving in to lobbyists
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in humiliating
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
she really cheapens herself by shamelessly pursuing men like that
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cheapening
There was only ever one copy of the album created, an intentional choice by RZA, the leader of the group, and Dutch Moroccan rapper and producer Cilvaringz, who felt the streaming age was cheapening music.
—
Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026
There was only ever one copy of the album created, an intentional choice by RZA, the leader of the group, and Dutch Moroccan rapper and producer Cilvaringz, who felt the streaming age was cheapening music.
—Charlie Vargas, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
Far from cheapening or diluting Ibsen’s themes and conflicts, the action revitalizes them.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2026
There was only ever one copy of the album created, an intentional choice by RZA, the leader of the group, and Dutch Moroccan rapper and producer Cilvaringz, who felt the streaming age was cheapening music.
—Charlie Vargas, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
Far from cheapening or diluting Ibsen’s themes and conflicts, the action revitalizes them.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheapening
Verb
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Some institutions, like the University of Arizona, are intentionally lowering class sizes to improve academic performance and graduation rates, while reducing scholarship expenses and national recruitment burdens.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
20 June 2026
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Norway's smartphone ban has already yielded results, according to some studies, including increasing students' GPAs and reducing trips to mental health professionals, particularly among female students.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
20 June 2026
Verb
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The bones also were coated with a light layer of minerals from the surrounding seawater, which may have prevented them from degrading.—
Adithi Ramakrishnan,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
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The country’s ministry of culture and sports set out a series of rules and regulations which included no pyro, no face paint and no shouting of words that could be degrading towards any person on the field, not even the referee.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
10 June 2026
Verb
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New Yorkers will recall the assholic behavior of the Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, a swaggering builder of ships, who always seemed to delight in humiliating his managers and players.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
11 June 2026
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In her report, Soto accused Sibrian of allegedly mocking and humiliating her for her accent, immigration status and race and calling her stupid.—
Rachel McRady,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
Verb
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And lower transportation costs eventually will have the effect of lowering prices on the supermarket shelves.—
Phil Lempert,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
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No matter how many times Trump posts about it, passing more voter ID laws and lowering the Senate's voting threshold seem to be dead-on-arrival propositions.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
18 June 2026
Verb
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Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
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An early discussion about social contracts comes down to us in Plato’s dialogue Crito in which Socrates, condemned to death for allegedly corrupting the youth, refused an offer to escape from prison.—
George G. Szpiro,
Big Think,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Defense attorney Tom Mesereau was an expert at discrediting witnesses, subjects told the filmmakers, but certain key witnesses, like Janet Arvizo, struggled to connect with the jury on their own.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2026
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If the Knicks had that happen to them, everyone would be discrediting them.—
David Troy OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
3 June 2026
Verb
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The hurricane-weakening effects of El Niño may be positive for property and casualty insurers in the Northern Hemisphere.—
Bloomberg,
Fortune,
21 June 2026
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An unpopular war, a structurally sound economy, but maybe GDP weakening, unemployment strong, but consumer confidence weakening.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
21 June 2026
Verb
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Then to Sydney Harbour, the very scene of that embarrassing capsize exactly a year earlier, and the Americans won the event outright for a first win since October 2023.—
Andrew Rice,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
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Lutnick's voluntary closed-door interview comes amid a monthslong procession of powerful people summoned before the committee, many of whom have been subjected to embarrassing revelations in the more than 3 million pages of records known as the Epstein files.—
Graham Kates,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cheapening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheapening. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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