as in corrupting
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
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Recent Examples of debauching
The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.
—
Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debauching
Verb
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Meanwhile, the Pima County Sheriff Office investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is facing troubles of its own, as a former sheriff has accused current leadership of ‘corrupting’ the crime scene, and a deputy has been arrested and fired on a kidnapping charge.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
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For Hildegard of Bingen, the German mystic, scientist, composer, and philosopher, women’s maternal bodies were not corrupting and degrading, but strong, nurturing, and creative.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Israel appears to have taken the lead on assassinating even low-level figures linked to Iran’s nuclear program while systematically degrading the knowledge centers that could prove useful in the future.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
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The determined plant can grow in many conditions, including sun or shade and wet or dry soil, displacing native species, disrupting local ecosystems, and even degrading riverbanks.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Anthropic's showdown with the Pentagon this year left OpenAI looking like the bad guy, and just this week Bloomberg reported that demand is weakening for private shares of OpenAI in the secondary market.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
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But those safeguards appear to be weakening.—
Jennifer Elias,Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Instead, these public dollars went to a DeSantis political fund aimed at subverting ballot measures to legalize private use of marijuana and constitutionalize women’s ability to access reproductive health care.—
Howard L. Simon,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
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While fashion has a long history of subverting religious motifs, Spradlin said the colors reflect a shift to sincerity, adding that Gen Z and millennials are outpacing older cohorts in church attendance.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Israel withdrew its diplomats amid security concerns and deteriorating relations with Turkey, following the war in Gaza.—
Suzan Fraser,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
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Israel withdrew its diplomats amid security concerns and deteriorating relations with Turkey during the war in Gaza.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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No one wants to be a jester, debasing oneself for a more powerful person’s amusement.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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Steven White told me that Marsha Allen had killed her husband, Harold, by poisoning a root beer float.—
Peter Van Sant,
CBS News,
5 Apr. 2026
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In the Middle Ages, local churchgoers whispered of clannish Jews poisoning wells to kill Christian children and steal their blood for their rituals.—
Mike Rothschild,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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State caseworkers have sent an untold number of elders in their care to a coterie of homes with a history of hurting, ignoring or humiliating their residents, records and anguished families say.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
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These clips often use humor and pop‑culture aesthetics—even LEGO‑style animations—to show Iran’s late supreme leader outsmarting and humiliating his American adversaries.—
Newsweek Editors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debauching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debauching. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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