debauchery

noun

di-ˈbȯ-chə-rē How to pronounce debauchery (audio)
Definition of debaucherynext
1
as in corruption
immoral conduct or practices harmful or offensive to society the fraternity brothers indulged in shameless debauchery all weekend

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2
as in degradation
a sinking to a state of low moral standards and behavior the minister decried what he called the debauchery of today's society

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in sensuality
excessive pursuit of fleshly pleasures a night of drinking and debauchery at the gentleman's club

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 debauchery Frankie impulsively breaks Taylor out of hospice care for one final night of fun and debauchery, but what promises to be a night of hedonism quickly becomes something much more complicated. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2026 Great for après-beach debauchery, this coastal spot is known for its abundance of beach activities, like volleyball, paddleboarding, and surfing. — Adeline Duff, Travel + Leisure, 26 June 2026 An example of the previously undisclosed debauchery includes a pair female twins allegedly hooking themselves up to a car battery for $10,000. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 23 June 2026 Children are well catered for, adults can oscillate between wellness and mild debauchery, and the sheer variety of spaces means groups can coexist without being on top of one another. — Arion McNicoll, TheWeek, 15 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for debauchery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debauchery
  1. corruption
  2. degradation
  3. sensuality
  4. immorality
  5. greed
  6. sin
  7. hedonism
  8. evil
Noun
  • East of Eden is a tome obsessed with guilt, sin, ambition, race, the land as healing and capitalism as putrefying, the nature of fate and the question of free will, and the role money and inheritance play in either our corruption or our cleansing.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Brown, who served as the union’s chief of staff and as special assistant to ex-International President Newton Jones, is the first of eight former Boilermakers to be sentenced in the federal corruption case.
    — Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of corruption
Noun
  • Since optical switches aren’t subject to the same amount of degradation as traditional mechanical switches, the representative argued, users won’t need to swap them over time.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 5 Oct. 2026
  • There are also practical questions around battery degradation, consumer compensation, privacy, and who gets to control an asset in someone’s home.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of degradation
Noun
  • Guasti says women who don’t dance tango are increasingly attracted to her clothes for their prints, colors, comfort and sensuality.
    — Michelle Edgar, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Inspired by Federico Fellini and the golden age of Italian cinema, this act celebrates the emergence of the Italian diva—an enduring symbol of glamour, sensuality, and style.
    — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of sensuality
Noun
  • Since the middle of the twentieth century, societies around the globe have undergone a collective revolution in standards and attitudes towards obscenity and immorality.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Independents said the worst thing about Republicans was their loyalty to Trump (10%), perceptions of corruption and self-enrichment (8%), dishonesty, hypocrisy or immorality (7%), a lack of concern for ordinary people or cruelty (6%), and ineffective and weak or unqualified leadership (5%).
    — Emily Guskin, ABC News, 27 May 2026
Definition of immorality
Noun
  • If the act is a cruel and unjust law, stealing from working Americans in order to feed the insatiable greed of the billionaire class, what can can average Americans do about it?
    — Dr. Michael Good, Hartford Courant, 28 Sep. 2026
  • In politics—according to Berman and, by extension, Longwell—the most convincing arguments play to love, sympathy, greed, fear, and anger.
    — Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of greed
Noun
  • While some newly prominent groups (such as those who later became known as Quakers) emphasized love, fellowship and justice, some members of other sects (like the Presbyterians) created new fears, new sins, new tests and new punishments.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • While Ferns prop Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu was in the sin-bin for head contact that forced off Marlie Packer, England bulldozed New Zealand's seven-women scrum for Breach to score her 58th try.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of sin
Noun
  • But what promises to be a night of hedonism quickly becomes something much more complicated, as Frankie and Taylor are forced to confront what has been left unsaid about their friendship and respective futures.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The drug’s relative obscurity has allowed its champions to shake off the baggage of the nineteen-sixties, and to position its use, not as hippie hedonism but as a medical intervention compatible with patriotic duty and Christian faith.
    — Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of hedonism
Noun
  • But while critics deemed the character overly simplistic and an ultimately unbelievable representation of evil (Cathy is an allegory for the serpent in the garden of Eden, after all), Pugh and Kazan, however, took a very different approach.
    — Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Basically, what Thiel’s doing in his Antichrist speeches is portraying our current predicament as an existential battle between good and evil.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of evil

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Cite this Entry

“Debauchery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debauchery. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

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