1
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
we debase ourselves when we adopt the moral code and behavior of our despised enemies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
our failure to win a single game completely debased us
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 debase
His illuminating backstage account of cable news describes thoughtful journalists debasing themselves in their scramble to retain straying viewers.
—
Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Only by allowing himself to be debased can this man actually come to understand God.
—Kevin Lincoln, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025
The sense of disharmony is immediate: a familiar scene of youth and learning is grimly debased into one of peril.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
By that time – perhaps only a decade from now, perhaps longer – the dollar may have been debased so badly that one bitcoin might be priced at $1 trillion or more.
—Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for debase
Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Only by allowing himself to be debased can this man actually come to understand God.
—Kevin Lincoln, Vulture, 20 Jan. 2025
The sense of disharmony is immediate: a familiar scene of youth and learning is grimly debased into one of peril.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
By that time – perhaps only a decade from now, perhaps longer – the dollar may have been debased so badly that one bitcoin might be priced at $1 trillion or more.
—Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 24 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for debase
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debase
Verb
-
Unlike many other archaeological sites in Sweden, where acidic soil degrades organic material, Strandvägen’s conditions have allowed organic material to survive for many years, as Gummesson tells the publication.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Yields usually fall when fear is dominating markets, but their surprising earlier rise stirred fears that Trump’s trade war was degrading the U.S. bond market’s status as one of the world’s safest places to keep cash.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Shawn reluctantly agrees, but is humiliated when Cory starts acting corny around his friend Gambling Dan (Phil Buckman), and his lackey, Louie (Weiss).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
16 Apr. 2025
-
He must be seen standing up to foreign oppressors who seek to humiliate China and thwart its rightful rise.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
From the outset, Nortec’s work challenged conventions, subverting stereotypes of Mexican identity — like the outsider trope of the gun-slinging charro donning a weed plant shirt in a lawless Tijuana — while exploring new artistic terrain.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Some accused him of overlooking the Democrats’ role in subverting democratic norms, citing, for example, President Obama’s embrace of executive power, or the Democratic attempt to filibuster Neil M. Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Biden’s actions continue to discredit the legitimacy of our judicial system.—
Carl Burdette,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Apr. 2025
-
The current page suggests this paper's explicit intention was to discredit the lab leak theory and remove any doubt that the origins were of natural origin.—
Youri Benadjaoud,
ABC News,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The pests set about sucking the sap from grape roots, slowly weakening them and opening wounds that invited disease.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
28 Apr. 2025
-
As more state legislation is passed that weakens or eliminates longstanding fire and life safety codes, the need for young workers who are trained and passionate about reversing these trends is high.—
Jim Pauley,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The woman, along with her legal team, painted a picture of a violent man whose abusive cycles included demeaning text messages, physical harm and threats.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
11 Apr. 2025
-
In the future Firestone dared to imagine, families would be replaced by collectives, children would have autonomy, pregnancy would occur outside the body, and work would be fulfilling rather than demeaning.—
Audrey Wollen,
Harpers Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Although Harvard is an institution that has been corrupted by politics and would be well served to voluntarily adopt most of Trump’s demands on it, the university has a good shot at prevailing in a legal fight on the grounds that Trump failed to follow the necessary statutory process.—
The Editors,
National Review,
29 Apr. 2025
-
And the disease was a politics that was corrupted by the most powerful in our society: billionaires and oligarchs and corporate CEOs.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The atmosphere, at once debauched and sombre, felt like a wake, one attendee said.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
-
But as commercialization took hold, the event metastasized into a pit of hard drugs, drunkenness, and debauch a world apart from its bohemian origins.—
Charlie Campbell,
TIME,
17 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debase.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debase. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share