debase

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word debase different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of debase are corrupt, debauch, deprave, pervert, and vitiate. While all these words mean "to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character," debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

In what contexts can corrupt take the place of debase?

The words corrupt and debase can be used in similar contexts, but corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

When is it sensible to use debauch instead of debase?

The words debauch and debase are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew

Where would deprave be a reasonable alternative to debase?

While in some cases nearly identical to debase, deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

When would pervert be a good substitute for debase?

The meanings of pervert and debase largely overlap; however, pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

When is vitiate a more appropriate choice than debase?

While the synonyms vitiate and debase are close in meaning, vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect.

a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship

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 debase This is what distinguishes bitcoin from every other modern financial asset – like gold, it cannot be debased by fiat or easily censored. Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025 His illuminating backstage account of cable news describes thoughtful journalists debasing themselves in their scramble to retain straying viewers. Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025 This is what distinguishes bitcoin from every other modern financial asset – like gold, it cannot be debased by fiat or easily censored. Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025 By that time – perhaps only a decade from now, perhaps longer – the dollar may have been debased so badly that one bitcoin might be priced at $1 trillion or more. Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for debase
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debase
Verb
  • Use of this material has been proposed in the past, but has been hampered by the fact that making CNTs involves metals, and the residue left behind ends up degrading electrical performance.
    Alex Knapp, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025
  • Briefly, however, while advocates say that isolating water conveyance from the Delta would improve habitat for fish and other wildlife, opponents contend that less water flowing through the estuary would further degrade its water quality.
    Dan Walters, Mercury News, 13 June 2025
Verb
  • Ukrainians said they were subjected to beatings, electric shocks and dog attacks by Russian authorities, not only to extract information but to intimidate and humiliate them.
    Richard Engel, NBC news, 11 June 2025
  • Musk, who also owns SpaceX, had backed Isaacman, and felt betrayed and humiliated when Trump changed his mind, according to the report.
    Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 7 June 2025
Verb
  • Relative to previous presidents, Trump is much more willing to ignore the country’s interests and pursue goals that openly subvert them.
    Daniel Byman, The Atlantic, 24 May 2025
  • Both underscore how well this series, at its best, generates suspense from editing, while either subverting expectations or diabolically playing on common fears.
    A.A. Dowd, Vulture, 19 May 2025
Verb
  • Trump’s team is working furiously to keep the bill going on other fronts, too: seeking to discredit Congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeper while savaging Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., for resisting the bill and its debt ceiling increase.
    Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 6 June 2025
  • The White House has sought to discredit the CBO, but other groups have also presented estimates that conclude that the legislation would expand the U.S. government deficit by trillions of dollars.
    Ted Johnson, Deadline, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • Bias, inaccuracies and missing values can all weaken model reliability.
    Tor Constantino, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
  • Coercing democratic allies such as Canada or Denmark more broadly weakens trust in U.S. alliances; threatening Panama reawakens fears of imperialism throughout Latin America; crippling the U.S. Agency for International Development undercuts the United States’ reputation for benevolence.
    Robert O. Keohane, Foreign Affairs, 2 June 2025
Verb
  • And nobody has seen a government that demeans public service.
    Tax Notes Staff, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
  • But even here on Roebling Street, the actor, who stands 6-foot-2, with shoulders that would not demean a musk ox, was not exactly small.
    Ariel Fisher, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Verb
  • To make matters worse, beyond unintentional biases, bad actors may corrupt AI technologies by feeding false or divisive information into AI training data.
    Corinne Post, Forbes.com, 3 June 2025
  • In one poignant conversation, Hoover described how the GDs needed to corrupt our youth.
    Ronald S. Safer, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025
Verb
  • The atmosphere, at once debauched and sombre, felt like a wake, one attendee said.
    Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
  • But as commercialization took hold, the event metastasized into a pit of hard drugs, drunkenness, and debauch a world apart from its bohemian origins.
    Charlie Campbell, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Debase.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debase. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

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