as in degradation
a sinking to a state of low moral standards and behavior
the debasement of professional sports to a shamelessly commercial enterprise
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Recent Examples of debasement
Bitcoin offers growth potential tied to adoption Like gold, Bitcoin is often viewed as a hedge against currency debasement because its supply is limited.
—
Sharon Wu, USA Today, 2 June 2026
Dollar debasement Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, expects the euro to extend recent gains against the dollar.
—Michael Considine, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026
Bakri’s face is impassive and exhausted during this casual debasement, his voice low, and his tone deadpan, as though Salim has been forced to do all this a million times before.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
Investors who are particularly concerned about currency debasement or geopolitical instability — both of which have driven gold's price run in recent years — may also find the physical gold component meaningful.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Over and over, Colin takes stock of his own debasement.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Bitcoin has failed to respond to typical drivers like dollar weakness or geopolitical risk, unlike gold and silver which rallied to records as global tensions fueled fears about dollar debasement.
—Bloomberg, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
In a Substack post Monday, Burry argued that the original cryptocurrency, which has fallen 40% since peaking in October, has been exposed as a purely speculative asset, failing to take off as a debasement hedge similar to precious metals.
—Emily Mason, Bloomberg, 3 Feb. 2026
Powell did not directly address the longer-term debasement argument, but his emphasis on anchored expectations suggests the Fed sees little evidence that the gold rally reflects a fundamental erosion of monetary credibility.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
Sharon Wu, USA Today, 2 June 2026
Dollar debasement Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, expects the euro to extend recent gains against the dollar.
—Michael Considine, CNBC, 21 Apr. 2026
Bakri’s face is impassive and exhausted during this casual debasement, his voice low, and his tone deadpan, as though Salim has been forced to do all this a million times before.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
Investors who are particularly concerned about currency debasement or geopolitical instability — both of which have driven gold's price run in recent years — may also find the physical gold component meaningful.
—Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Over and over, Colin takes stock of his own debasement.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2026
Bitcoin has failed to respond to typical drivers like dollar weakness or geopolitical risk, unlike gold and silver which rallied to records as global tensions fueled fears about dollar debasement.
—Bloomberg, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026
In a Substack post Monday, Burry argued that the original cryptocurrency, which has fallen 40% since peaking in October, has been exposed as a purely speculative asset, failing to take off as a debasement hedge similar to precious metals.
—Emily Mason, Bloomberg, 3 Feb. 2026
Powell did not directly address the longer-term debasement argument, but his emphasis on anchored expectations suggests the Fed sees little evidence that the gold rally reflects a fundamental erosion of monetary credibility.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debasement
Noun
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This collection of poems—Orr’s thirteenth—bears bitter witness to environmental degradation, moral corruption, and the aging of a body and of a generation, all viewed from a bird’s eye, wrapped in the language and tone of myth.—
Craig Morgan Teicher,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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And a 2024 study found that a larger-than-expected proportion of physicians are leaving after fulfilling their service obligations, citing pay disparity, administrative burden, and clinical skill degradation as key drivers.—
Allison DeAngelis,
STAT,
1 June 2026
Noun
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Rubio acknowledged that the current arrangement may not be permanent, but described it as a significant departure from the corruption and patronage structures that dominated Venezuela during the Chávez and Maduro years.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
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Becerra has not been accused of wrongdoing in the corruption case, though that did not stop Steyer’s campaign from suggesting he might be indicted in eleventh-hour TV ads that drew a cease-and-desist warning from Becerra’s attorney.—
Ben Paviour,
Sacbee.com,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debasement.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debasement. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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