as in degrades
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew to the point where they no longer acted like naval professionals
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debauches
Verb
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Since genetic material degrades over time, mapping the genome of animals like these that died thousands of years ago is incredibly difficult.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
14 Jan. 2026 -
Venezuela may not be the sole source of cocaine, nor a major conduit for fentanyl, but dismantling a regime that actively protects and profits from transnational criminal networks unquestionably degrades those networks’ capacity to operate.—
Timothy M. Herbst,
Hartford Courant,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As Jay Jonah Atterbury, one of a handful of new characters on the fourth season of Industry, Kal Penn weaponizes and corrupts the stoner quirks viewers may recognize from his years playing Kumar Patel in the Harold & Kumar films.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
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Instead of a warning event, Expeditions imagines the historical fall that corrupts the Earth.—
Nola Taylor Tillman,
Space.com,
21 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Emily Demirdonder, director of operations and marketing at Proximity Plumbing, said the rubber backing deteriorates in hot water and breaks apart during the spin cycle, and those fragments can block drain pumps and drainage pipes—sometimes leading to flooding and machine failure.—
Alesandra Dubin,
Southern Living,
28 Jan. 2026
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Staying at home when weather deteriorates will allow essential personnel to travel more safely to work.—
Nick Sullivan,
Charlotte Observer,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Thecla humiliates him by ripping his robe and tearing the wreath off his head.—
Christy Cobb,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2026
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To show him who’s boss, Catherine turns around and buys Pac-North, humiliates him by closing it, and forces him back to Grey Sloan.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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When CEOs treat financial advice as a substitute for judgment, leadership starts to erode, decisions slow down, and conviction weakens.—
Melissa Houston,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Trump’s focus on the Western Hemisphere — as a show of might that weakens China’s geostrategic influence, Nikkei wrote.—
Manal Albarakati,
semafor.com,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The film may initially present Man-su as a sympathetic family man trying to make ends meet, but Lee quickly subverts those sentiments once Man-su’s methodical process betrays no sense of remorse.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
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Their work—black-and-white portraits, still-lifes, and advertising shots, some now on view at Robert Mann gallery—subverts an education in Bauhaus severity with playful, quirky Surrealism.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Freddy Krueger debases the suburban American ideal through the dreams of teenagers in Nightmare on Elm Street.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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What damages a human being is sin.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
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The progressive disease damages the protective cover around nerves called myelin in your central nervous system, according to the Cleveland Clinic.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Debauches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debauches. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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