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
What starts as a series that aims to subvert the heist genre at every turn – amped with thrilling life-or-death stakes, family dynamics, and explosive action – gives birth to an exploration of what drives us, sustains us, and ultimately destroys us.
—
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026
Prison is where the former Mesa County Clerk belongs to serve the full sentence she was given for her multiple crimes to subvert our elections.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2026
Republicans and Democrats, left and right—both are being subverted by anti-Semitism within.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026
Prison is where the former Mesa County Clerk belongs to serve the full sentence she was given for her multiple crimes to subvert our elections.
—Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2026
Republicans and Democrats, left and right—both are being subverted by anti-Semitism within.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subvert
Verb
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More than 100 aircraft launched from land and sea in the first day, with cyber and space campaigns degrading Iranian communications and sensors while the air campaign struck command-and-control centers, ballistic-missile sites, naval forces and intelligence infrastructure.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
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Instead, officials refocused the strategic narrative on their ambitions to degrade Iran's conventional military – especially ballistic missile – and nuclear programs.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But the president contends there is no excuse for the lack of participation now that Iran's navy has been sunk and its air defenses severely weakened.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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In the state’s view, that weakens or muddies the legal boundary between the two types of gambling venues.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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To win, Orbán has to corrupt that searing national memory, and to substitute fear of Ukraine.—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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Goodwill is corrupted on arrival by the modern virtue of avarice.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Later, a fire at Hall’s grandmother’s house would destroy most of his magic act.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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This time around, in that first wave of strikes on February 28, American cruise missiles targeted and destroyed a building that ended up being a girls’ school—killing more than 168 young children who had just started their day of classes.—
Connor Okeeffe,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Well, everyone in show business has to humiliate themselves sometimes.—
Katherine Turman,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
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But some Cubans still revere the 1959 revolution, and, as one foreign official told us, have no desire to humiliate Raúl Castro (Fidel’s 94-year-old brother and a former president), or even Díaz-Canel, who is widely viewed as a weak bureaucrat.—
Sarah Fitzpatrick,
The Atlantic,
22 Mar. 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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In a new Instagram post shared on Tuesday, the composer behind the HBO show’s memorable soundtrack described an industry that debases its own art and the people who make it for the sake of consumerism.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
17 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The second is a 100-day sludge line that will poison the reserves oil-hungry nations are racing to drain.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
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But would someone go so far as to poison a tree to keep the view open?—
Ashley Mackin Solomon,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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When this idea is diluted, government expands its ambition to curate the public’s consciousness.—
George F. Will,
Washington Post,
3 Apr. 2026
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Now, Perez said branches are leaving the union because of high turnover in retail banking, which dilutes the original union-supporting staff and allows the company to re-educate new hires with anti-union talking points.—
Chase Jordan
April 2,
Charlotte Observer,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Subvert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subvert. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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