as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
by insisting that she pay me for helping her, she subverted my noble desire to do a good deed without reward
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Recent Examples of subvert
The film examines how boundaries are inscribed and looks to plants as models for subverting systems of control.
—
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
Several of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performances subvert or tweak his good looks, encouraging us to see the uglier, messier undercurrents beneath his characters’ appealing surface.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, said the plan outlined subverted Congress's power outlined in the Constitution, controlling how government money is spent, according to Reuters.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
DiCaprio, 50, subverts his Hollywood leading man image by wearing a ratty red robe, unkempt hair and oversized sunglasses as former revolutionary and current stoner Bob Ferguson, who is forced back into action to save himself and his daughter (Chase Infiniti) from paramilitary enforcers.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Matt Grobar, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
Several of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best performances subvert or tweak his good looks, encouraging us to see the uglier, messier undercurrents beneath his characters’ appealing surface.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
The top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, said the plan outlined subverted Congress's power outlined in the Constitution, controlling how government money is spent, according to Reuters.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Sep. 2025
DiCaprio, 50, subverts his Hollywood leading man image by wearing a ratty red robe, unkempt hair and oversized sunglasses as former revolutionary and current stoner Bob Ferguson, who is forced back into action to save himself and his daughter (Chase Infiniti) from paramilitary enforcers.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subvert
Verb
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In their world, which is also ours, selfhood has degraded into taste, preferences, demography, and outlays of attention and money.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
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Unsubstantiated rumors still swirl online and in county meetings that wind, solar and battery storage facilities will degrade the environment, destroy rural culture and lower property values.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Losing him for the entire World Series would weaken their already-thin bullpen, and force Roberts to get creative in high-leverage situations after his starting pitcher has been removed.—
Jon Paul Hoornstra,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
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After accounting for lifestyle variables like exercise, the effects weakened a bit as, for example, more active people tend to spend more time outdoors.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Listers understands how technology can corrupt our leisure activities.—
Tyler Austin Harper,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
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Researchers had previously assumed attackers would need to corrupt a specific percentage of the data, which, for larger models would be millions of documents.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Almost every building is damaged or destroyed beyond repair.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
19 Oct. 2025
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According to Craig Croucher of the Bot Builders, around 300 spectators turned out to watch the robots destroy each other.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Pressing for payment could humiliate people, who often arrive with their extended families, Parmar explained, and in a community this close-knit, that could mean losing dozens of patients, including many of the Medicaid patients who keep the clinic afloat.—
Helen Ouyang,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 2025
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By the time the cameras stopped clicking and the newsmen flew home, Kentucky had been humiliated in the national press, the onlooker’s violence both disputed and affirmed in accounts of this day.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Dogville, from 2003, is an experimental Lars von Trier film shot on a stage set in which Kidman plays a woman debased and abused by the inhabitants of a small town.—
Wendell Steavenson,
Vogue,
8 Oct. 2025
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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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The plot was inspired by a Japanese news report that had deeply disturbed Woo, about a lunatic guilty of poisoning baby formula.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
19 Oct. 2025
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Investigators reportedly discovered evidence through online records that Gates allegedly purchased materials and attempted to carry out a plan to poison her husband.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Americano Americano is a shot of espresso that’s diluted with hot water, resulting in a smoother and more balanced flavor.—
Laura Schober,
Health,
23 Oct. 2025
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While bleach should never be used at full-strength on any floors, it can be diluted and used on concrete, tile, and sometimes vinyl.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subvert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subvert. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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