debauch

Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of debauch are corrupt, debase, deprave, pervert, and vitiate. While all these words mean "to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character," debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

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

When would corrupt be a good substitute for debauch?

While the synonyms corrupt and debauch are close in meaning, corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

Where would debase be a reasonable alternative to debauch?

The synonyms debase and debauch are sometimes interchangeable, but debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

When could deprave be used to replace debauch?

Although the words deprave and debauch have much in common, deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

When is pervert a more appropriate choice than debauch?

While in some cases nearly identical to debauch, pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

When might vitiate be a better fit than debauch?

The words vitiate and debauch are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, 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 debauch The dark comedy follows a wealthy socialite, Stacy (Cherry), and a struggling writer, Becky (Chalotra), who are brought together at a lavish, debauched New York party. Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 14 Aug. 2025 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 In season two, when Mike White’s series decamped to Sicily, the credits riffed on Italian frescoes that got increasingly debauched — with a beat drop from opera to EDM. Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2025 Life is debauched and consistent, until that handsome twentysomething gent wanders into Lee’s favorite watering hole. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debauch
Verb
  • Long-term drought has degraded the old-growth forest where the squirrels live.
    John Leos, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Design for Choice, Not Chaos Present customers with multiple options, from digital wallets to local payment rails, without degrading user experience.
    Christer Holloman, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • We are absolutely not corrupted.
    Sarah Larson, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Microsoft has found no evidence that a recent Windows 11 update can corrupt a PC’s SSD, despite some user reports flagging the issue.
    PC Magazine, PC Magazine, 29 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • In pre-trial evidence released last month, Erin's ex-husband Simon also accused Erin of attempting to fatally poison him on multiple occasions, per the BBC.
    Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 8 Sep. 2025
  • The patients allegedly poisoned were between the ages of 4 and 89, according to Le Monde.
    Becca Longmire, People.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Unlike bonds, which promise repayment of the primary investment at a future date, warranting demands for higher yields to offset inflation concerns, gold is a physical asset that cannot be debased by fiscal mismanagement or political interference.
    Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Mayors debase themselves all the time for corporations!
    Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • And Sacks, a PayPal Mafia member and veteran Silicon Valley investor, is just the sort of titan of industry this town routinely devours and humiliates — from Rex Tillerson to, well, Elon Musk.
    Ben Smith, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • And whether the Carolina Panthers are just stuck in an endless loop of embarrassment, one that alternately humiliates and enrages their fans.
    Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Israeli strikes severely weakened Hezbollah – culminating in the assassination of its revered leader, Hassan Nasrallah – and significantly curtailed the group’s domestic clout.
    Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Symptoms related to Listeria monocytogenes Listeria is especially harmful to people whose immune system is weakened or not fully developed but can also impact healthy individuals.
    Julia Gomez, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Aware of this injustice, companies are hiring lawyers and influence peddlers to bolster their MAGA credentials and pervert traditional law enforcement.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
  • Love lost, love gained, love perverted, love stolen.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 24 July 2025
Verb
  • Added to this natural reluctance, competition between institutions has subverted collaboration to increase net welfare.
    David G.W. Birch, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Much of how the show subverts expectation is through its cast — Will Lipton, Zendé Murdock, Axel Ellis, Jesse Golliher, and Jeremy Yun — a group of twenty-somethings hailing from across the country who, since their casting, have become a real band amid an industry rock resurgence.
    Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Debauch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debauch. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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