cheapening

verb

present participle of cheapen
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

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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

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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

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 cheapening The two are different in kind, and cheapening the first does nothing for the second. — Dr. Aditya Vikram Kashyap, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 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. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 14 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
  1. reducing
  2. degrading
  3. humiliating
  4. lowering
  5. corrupting
  6. discrediting
  7. weakening
  8. embarrassing
Verb
  • Drought conditions are also fueling devastating, costly wildfires and reducing crop yields, threatening to push up food prices.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Reportedly this approach could boost reliability by reducing the number of mechanical components.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • The Kremlin has also started to systematically target Ukrainian ports and ships in the Black Sea in hopes of degrading the infrastructure that supports the country’s agricultural exports.
    — Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2026
  • In a public service announcement Thursday, the agencies said water and wastewater utilities have reported incidents to the FBI, with some malicious activity degrading water operations.
    — Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 31 July 2026
Definition of degrading
Verb
  • The Iranians are now setting the terms of this conflict and are routinely humiliating the American president.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Instead of demanding personal fealty or humiliating them to assert personal dominance, Lincoln absorbed their egos and occasional slights, elevating their talents and turning his fiercest political adversaries into his most devoted champions.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 June 2026
Definition of humiliating
Verb
  • Asked about Target's tariff refunds Tuesday, Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee told reporters that the company continues to invest in lowering prices.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Johnson last year initially proposed lowering the advance payment to $121 million from about $260 million the year before.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of lowering
Verb
  • Validation rules, schema standards and completeness checks at the entry point prevent bad master data from corrupting everything downstream.
    — Jacqueline DeStefano-Tangorra, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 31 May 2026
Definition of corrupting
Verb
  • The release of his diaries though, revealed some thoroughly discrediting and upsetting details about Fauci's private beliefs.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Kiryl Pazniak, 49, who hosted a popular political show on YouTube, has been convicted on the charges of discrediting Belarus and forming an extremist organization, the group said — accusations widely used by authorities to stifle critical voices.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 July 2026
Definition of discrediting
Verb
  • Sansoni’s study suggests that years of scrolling on Instagram can weaken our ability to rely on these inner signals, essentially weakening our brain’s ability to accurately perceive its own face and body.
    — Nicole Karlis, Allure, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The danger Pelath is concerned about is when the river banks are saturated, some root systems let go, sending more trees into the river and weakening the banks.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • Many of the voters of the other political parties have been lending him their support, partly in the hope of embarrassing Farage.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Anthrax, Sublime, and Red Hot Chili Peppers were easy and often embarrassing examples, but the funky waka-waka guitar sound extended to Rage Against the Machine, Green Jellÿ, and Suicidal Tendencies (and their side project, Infectious Grooves).
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of embarrassing

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Cite this Entry

“Cheapening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheapening. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of cheapening for Spanish Speakers

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