1
as in degrading
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2
as in perverted
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as in debasement
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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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Gracia Liu-Farrer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025
But the story of Hilma af Klint lacks the blunt clarity of balance sheets, and her afterlife suggests that money, far from debasing art, is what pins it to the world.
—Alice Gregory, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Is Alec Bloom’s seemingly sincere political schmoozing meaningfully different from arts-nonprofit-director Gary Pidgeon debasing himself to coax money from donors?
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025
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
Verb
Since the summer of 2025, antiforeigner sentiment—fueled by false or exaggerated claims about migrant workers committing crimes, foreign residents draining welfare coffers, or international tourists debasing Japanese culture—has taken hold in Japanese politics.
—Gracia Liu-Farrer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025
But the story of Hilma af Klint lacks the blunt clarity of balance sheets, and her afterlife suggests that money, far from debasing art, is what pins it to the world.
—Alice Gregory, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Is Alec Bloom’s seemingly sincere political schmoozing meaningfully different from arts-nonprofit-director Gary Pidgeon debasing himself to coax money from donors?
—Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025
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
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As advertised, Episode 1 was wildly degrading for contestants and weirdly nostalgic for viewers.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Sheriff Guidroz said the three inmates removed blocks from a degrading wall in the prison to create a hole, and used sheets to assist them in climbing down a wall and dropping to the ground.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Udo Kier is the perverted master of ceremonies in this three-ring circus of deviancy from director Paul Morrissey, which takes Frankenstein’s romantic necrophilia and distills it to its glistening, taboo essence.—
Katie Rife,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
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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
Noun
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In that corner of the market, the debasement trade endured — less as a sweeping judgment on fiat, more as a focused bet on rates, policy and protection.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
29 Dec. 2025
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Investor demand has also been underpinned by debasement trade, as concerns over swelling debt loads drive a retreat from sovereign bonds and the currencies they are issued in.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Political opponents appear as corrupting forces, stripped of individual texture.—
Philip Martin,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
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Achim Kempf, the Chair for Physics of Information and AI in the Department of Applied Mathematics, and Koji Yamaguchi, then a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Waterloo, co-discovered a method to copy quantum information without corrupting it.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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This announcement, humiliating the involved member, is harmful.—
Kelly G. Richardson,
Oc Register,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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That demeaning statement has proven both accurate and inaccurate, depending on the president’s relationship with the vice president, their skill set, experience, and political ambition.—
Myra Adams,
Washington Post,
9 Jan. 2026
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Bruce was praised by fellow members of the White House press corps for asking important questions despite the president’s demeaning comments.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
21 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Yet Hiller’s latest equivocating mea culpa, with the now-familiar language of hardship and defeatism so unbecoming of a professional hockey team, rang unconvincing.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Even so, David’s push for recognition struck some in the industry as unbecoming.—
Reeves Wiedeman,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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As a pattern of intimidation, isolation, humiliation and controlling behavior, coercive control can be as damaging as physical abuse.—
Oona Metz,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
-
From there, the abject humiliation of Saturday night’s 123-99 loss to the league-worst Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, when Spoelstra questioned his team’s readiness.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
12 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debasing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debasing. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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