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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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
  • The answer may be different if the goal is reducing overall homelessness, helping people into the job market, spending as little taxpayer money as possible, improving health outcomes — or just keeping people alive.
    — Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Like morphine and fentanyl, cychlorphine locks onto the brain’s mu-opioid receptors, reducing pain and increasing euphoria.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • Germany's Constitutional Court ruled last year that the extradition was unlawful because it could not be guaranteed that the defendant would not be subject to inhumane or degrading treatment in Hungarian custody.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Moscow no longer hopes to win by merely capturing cities, or even by degrading Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
    — Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 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
  • Refillable in-room toiletries, guest recycling, and electric car charging stations also contribute to lowering the property’s footprint.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Employers focused on improving participation, lowering fees, expanding investment choices and helping employees make better decisions.
    — Jeff Stevenson, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of lowering
Verb
  • And by engaging with these powerful militaries, the group reinforced its self-image as a major regional player that was uniquely capable of liberating the Muslim world from corrupting American and Israeli influence.
    — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Gadgets with screens of any size have long been allegedly melting, rotting, and/or corrupting the brains of youths for decades.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of corrupting
Verb
  • Matthew Cohen—who has also gone by Jason Goose—played his own part in discrediting the files.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
  • This isn’t about discrediting merengue, a genre that also deserves to be celebrated, respected and protected.
    — Sigal Ratner-Arias, Billboard, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of discrediting
Verb
  • Deterioration is exacerbated if water reaches the steel rebar, corroding from inside the concrete mass and thereby weakening the integrity of the wall.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Those states’ experiences show that weakening graduation requirements reduces accountability for schools.
    — Neetu Arnold, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • But the Yanks are hot after embarrassing Boston with 9-0 and 9-2 victories in the Wild Card round.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Things escalate as the two share a car ride home from a fancy gala and the bad man yells at her for embarrassing him.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 28 Sep. 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 8 Oct. 2026.

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