1
as in degrading
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2
as in perverted
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as in debasement
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in corrupting
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
we debase ourselves when we adopt the moral code and behavior of our despised enemies
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2
as in humiliating
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
our failure to win a single game completely debased us
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Recent Examples of debasing
Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2025
Verb
For decades, bartenders have been defaming the Mai Tai, debasing it, making and selling versions of the drink that were childish and incomplex, saccharine and flat.
—Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debasing
Adjective
-
Charles Rolsky, executive director and senior research scientist at the Shaw Institute, a nonprofit focusing on the links between environmental and human health, says that many studies, including his own, suggest PVA can pass through wastewater treatment without completely degrading.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The mission emphasized that detaining adolescents under such conditions amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In a searing rebuttal days before the British socialite was convicted for procuring victims for Epstein’s abuse in December 2021, Comey spoke to the perverted duo’s reasons for targeting teens from disadvantaged backgrounds.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
17 July 2025
-
Jeff is a bit of a voyeur or peeping Tom, though not in a perverted way.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
Noun
-
Higgins also debunked the debasement trade hypothesis.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
-
The immediate goal of this concerted information operation is the debasement of American Jews, but the more politically salient goal is the gaslighting of American evangelical Christians—the very core of the MAGA base, and an overwhelmingly pro-Jewish, pro-Israel constituency at that.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But the church also taught that the power of music could be corrupting.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Tales From Beyond the Pale co-creator Glenn McQuaid unleashes a Jason Voorhees whose appearance is concealed not by a hockey mask but a squiggly blur of video noise, corrupting the handheld footage of him stalking college kids through the woods.—
A.A. Dowd,
Vulture,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
But parading around half-naked at competitions felt demeaning.—
Sean Williams,
Outside,
27 Oct. 2025
-
What once was aberrant—indeed, unimaginable—is now standard Trump fare, demeaning not only to the Presidency but to the rule of law.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This is unbecoming of the office.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 Sep. 2025
-
By their own admission, this leads to a loss of a state religion and an exploration of different possible lifestyles unbecoming of a true American.—
Rafael Perez,
Oc Register,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Scars from last week’s humiliation at Utah seemed raw when Colorado returned home Saturday night.—
Ira Gorawara,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
-
In DaCosta’s film, Hedda’s scheme to stall Lovborg’s comeback is drawn out with more detailed scheming, including implicating Lovborg in a public humiliation of Professor Greenwood (Finbar Lynch), who is responsible for deciding the recipient of the professorship.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debasing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debasing. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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