prostituting

verb

present participle of prostitute
1
as in corrupting
to lower in character, dignity, or quality a serious writer prostituting himself by writing pulp novels for money

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abusing
to put to a bad or improper use urged not to prostitute her musical talents by writing jingles for TV commercials

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 prostituting Driscoll said that Combs did not make any money from prostituting women and so he could not be classed as a pimp and should face a lesser sentence under the Act. — Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prostituting
  1. corrupting
  2. abusing
  3. degrading
  4. misusing
  5. debauching
  6. subverting
  7. debasing
  8. perverting
Verb
  • And by engaging with these powerful militaries, the group reinforced its self-image as a major regional player that was uniquely capable of liberating the Muslim world from corrupting American and Israeli influence.
    — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Gadgets with screens of any size have long been allegedly melting, rotting, and/or corrupting the brains of youths for decades.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of corrupting
Verb
  • Berry’s ex-husband Olivier Martinez accused the actor of physically abusing their 12-year-old son last month.
    — Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • As reports of officers abusing Flock have made headlines and the company has become increasingly controversial, hundreds of cities and counties have ended or suspended their contracts with the company, or decided not to renew them.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of abusing
Verb
  • Germany's Constitutional Court ruled last year that the extradition was unlawful because it could not be guaranteed that the defendant would not be subject to inhumane or degrading treatment in Hungarian custody.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Moscow no longer hopes to win by merely capturing cities, or even by degrading Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
    — Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of degrading
Verb
  • The simple firewall component both blocks attacks from outside the local network and prevents local programs from misusing their network connections.
    — Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The charges represent an example of law enforcement officers allegedly misusing license plate camera readers for personal use -- a trend around the country.
    — Jack Date, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of misusing
Verb
  • 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
Definition of debauching
Verb
  • According to tax authorities, by inappropriately avoiding gains, investors are subverting the intention of the rules.
    — Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026
  • There’s a guilty pleasure in subverting a cheesy tourist tee.
    — Alexandra Hildreth, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of subverting
Verb
  • This rousing tribute to the free press, delivered by the son of a journalist, was followed by the world premiere of Danny Boyle’s Ink, a film about how the journalists at British tabloid The Sun ended up debasing our entire society.
    — Nate Jones, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Most of us would deny that any socially useful work can be or should be debasing.
    — Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
Definition of debasing
Verb
  • The trial collapsed after the journalist was found to have tampered with evidence (he was later convicted of perverting the course of justice).
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 23 June 2026
  • He was also found guilty of perverting the court of justice.
    — StyleCaster Editors, StyleCaster, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of perverting

Browse Nearby Words

prostitutes
prostituting
prostitution
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prostituting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prostituting. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of regimen

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All