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
Television ‘The Last of Us’ director on Ellie and Dina’s relationship: ‘This is not just a crush’
May 4, 2025
The stakes in Season 1 were very clear — get Ellie to where she can be used to make a cure — even if they were subverted in the end.
—
Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2025
The chancellor’s attempt to seek your commission’s forgiveness years after deliberately avoiding your timely permission reads now like a cagey campaign to dodge his duties as steward of our knoll and subvert the relevant rule of law.
—Letters To The Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2025
The latest move intensifies the administration’s attempt to upend the culture of higher education by directly subverting the ability of one of the nation’s premier universities to attract the best and brightest students from all over the world.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 22 May 2025
The Headstrong Project As a former cryptologic linguist with the U.S. Air Force attached to the intelligence community, Tahlia Burton dos Santos translated Pashto in real time to identify and subvert threats to military service men and women in Afghanistan.
—Robin Roenker, USA Today, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2025
The chancellor’s attempt to seek your commission’s forgiveness years after deliberately avoiding your timely permission reads now like a cagey campaign to dodge his duties as steward of our knoll and subvert the relevant rule of law.
—Letters To The Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2025
The latest move intensifies the administration’s attempt to upend the culture of higher education by directly subverting the ability of one of the nation’s premier universities to attract the best and brightest students from all over the world.
—Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times, 22 May 2025
The Headstrong Project As a former cryptologic linguist with the U.S. Air Force attached to the intelligence community, Tahlia Burton dos Santos translated Pashto in real time to identify and subvert threats to military service men and women in Afghanistan.
—Robin Roenker, USA Today, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for subvert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for subvert
Verb
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Use of this material has been proposed in the past, but has been hampered by the fact that making CNTs involves metals, and the residue left behind ends up degrading electrical performance.—
Alex Knapp,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
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Further, Israel’s previous attacks on Iran in April and October 2024 managed to degrade Iran’s ballistic and surface-to-air missiles and air defense radar systems.—
Javed Ali,
The Conversation,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Bias, inaccuracies and missing values can all weaken model reliability.—
Tor Constantino,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
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Coercing democratic allies such as Canada or Denmark more broadly weakens trust in U.S. alliances; threatening Panama reawakens fears of imperialism throughout Latin America; crippling the U.S. Agency for International Development undercuts the United States’ reputation for benevolence.—
Robert O. Keohane,
Foreign Affairs,
2 June 2025
Verb
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To make matters worse, beyond unintentional biases, bad actors may corrupt AI technologies by feeding false or divisive information into AI training data.—
Corinne Post,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
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In one poignant conversation, Hoover described how the GDs needed to corrupt our youth.—
Ronald S. Safer,
Chicago Tribune,
30 May 2025
Verb
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The first move for a mistrial from Combs’ legal team occurred at the end of May, after prosecutors asked Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator Lance Jimenez if fingerprint evidence related to the bombing of Kid Cudi's car had been destroyed.—
Toria Sheffield,
People.com,
8 June 2025
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If trillion-dollar bonds are required to contest trillion-dollar damages our government is causing, that destroys the protections our Constitution provides its citizens against the rule of tyrants.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 June 2025
Verb
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Ukrainians said they were subjected to beatings, electric shocks and dog attacks by Russian authorities, not only to extract information but to intimidate and humiliate them.—
Richard Engel,
NBC news,
11 June 2025
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Musk, who also owns SpaceX, had backed Isaacman, and felt betrayed and humiliated when Trump changed his mind, according to the report.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
7 June 2025
Verb
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Read More: The Battle for Our Memory Is the Battle for Our Country But debasing our history through censorship and ideological cherry-picking insults the memory of the nine saints who were murdered at Mother Emanuel, desecrating its sacred space all over again.—
Kevin Sack,
Time,
3 June 2025
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An office that demands wisdom and restraint is now debased with churlish impulsivity, rambling incoherency and overt grift.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 May 2025
Verb
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The toxins accumulate in filter-feeding fish, and then poison larger mammals who gobble up the fish in mass quantities.—
Corinne Purtill,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
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The Louisville Courier Journal documented the connection in their investigation into cartel drugs poisoning Oregon.—
Sean Campbell,
The Conversation,
23 May 2025
Verb
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The process starts with extracting CBD from the plant, which is then diluted with coconut oil or hemp seed.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 June 2025
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Similarly, the 34-game Major League Soccer schedule, plus numerous other matches played by many MLS standouts during the season, can dilute the quality of play by asking too much of players.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Subvert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/subvert. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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