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 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 Life is debauched and consistent, until that handsome twentysomething gent wanders into Lee’s favorite watering hole. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2024 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 That doesn’t seem especially forbidden or debauched. Chris Klimek, Vulture, 17 July 2024 Instead, Mixtape Pluto is subterranean and nocturnal, hedonistic one minute and aching with regrets the next, debauched but wounded. Christopher R. Weingarten, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debauch
Verb
  • One of the challenges is that signals in fiber-optic cables degrade over distance.
    Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 24 June 2025
  • Israel wants to degrade Iran's missiles and nuclear program.
    Brittney Melton, NPR, 23 June 2025
Verb
  • Imagine an attacker subtly corrupting the data that trains a spam filter or fraud detector—the AI might then start letting threats slip through or flagging the wrong items.
    Ronen Cojocaru, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025
  • The peasants followed out of a need to earn a living, but they were frequently corrupted by the ideals of luxury and idleness exemplified by the rich, further driving them into poverty.
    Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • Still, no amount of artistic success could heal the rift that had poisoned the group.
    Ernesto Lechner, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2025
  • The press, like the government and the judiciary, is part of a system that’s poisoned from within.
    Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025
Verb
  • Read More: The Battle for Our Memory Is the Battle for Our Country But debasing our history through censorship and ideological cherry-picking insults the memory of the nine saints who were murdered at Mother Emanuel, desecrating its sacred space all over again.
    Kevin Sack, Time, 3 June 2025
  • An office that demands wisdom and restraint is now debased with churlish impulsivity, rambling incoherency and overt grift.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2025
Verb
  • Miller sought to shield these women, her suit said, and as a result she was humiliated, harassed and ultimately forced out of her job by Spitzer and Nelson.
    Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 20 June 2025
  • As Howard begins to humiliate Matt, the camera follows all angles of the table, making sure to showcase everyone’s reactions.
    Leia Mendoza, Variety, 17 June 2025
Verb
  • But in an unexpected ruling in 2023, the Supreme Court declined an invitation to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
    June 27, CBS News, 27 June 2025
  • Abandoning recognition can erode motivation, diminish engagement and make employees feel invisible, weakening the cultural fabric and undermining long-term resilience.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025
Verb
  • In his eyes, a Jew who fails to share that outlook becomes the monster of traditional antisemitic lore: something perverted from its essential nature.
    Robert Helfand, Hartford Courant, 21 May 2025
  • The rule of law has been invoked and perverted in a concerted effort to undermine it.
    Mark A. Cohen, Forbes.com, 12 May 2025
Verb
  • Emotionally charged, visceral and immersive, the new sequel 28 Years Later subverts expectations in many ways, not least by making a 12-year-old boy — Spike, played with a poignant balance of vulnerability and resilience by terrific newcomer Alfie Williams — the indisputable protagonist.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025
  • And yet, writer/director Celine Song subverts it all — and that’s the point.
    Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 16 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Debauch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debauch. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

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