1
as in degrading
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
as in perverted
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
as in debasement
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in corrupting
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in humiliating
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 debasing
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026 Since the summer of 2025, antiforeigner sentiment—fueled by false or exaggerated claims about migrant workers committing crimes, foreign residents draining welfare coffers, or international tourists debasing Japanese culture—has taken hold in Japanese politics. —Gracia Liu-Farrer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025 But the story of Hilma af Klint lacks the blunt clarity of balance sheets, and her afterlife suggests that money, far from debasing art, is what pins it to the world. —Alice Gregory, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025 Is Alec Bloom’s seemingly sincere political schmoozing meaningfully different from arts-nonprofit-director Gary Pidgeon debasing himself to coax money from donors? —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025 For decades, bartenders have been defaming the Mai Tai, debasing it, making and selling versions of the drink that were childish and incomplex, saccharine and flat. —Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2025
Verb
No one wants to be a jester, debasing oneself for a more powerful person’s amusement. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2026 Since the summer of 2025, antiforeigner sentiment—fueled by false or exaggerated claims about migrant workers committing crimes, foreign residents draining welfare coffers, or international tourists debasing Japanese culture—has taken hold in Japanese politics. —Gracia Liu-Farrer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025 But the story of Hilma af Klint lacks the blunt clarity of balance sheets, and her afterlife suggests that money, far from debasing art, is what pins it to the world. —Alice Gregory, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025 Is Alec Bloom’s seemingly sincere political schmoozing meaningfully different from arts-nonprofit-director Gary Pidgeon debasing himself to coax money from donors? —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 7 Nov. 2025 For decades, bartenders have been defaming the Mai Tai, debasing it, making and selling versions of the drink that were childish and incomplex, saccharine and flat. —Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 13 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debasing
Adjective
-
Cotton also gets softer with every wash instead of pilling or degrading — a durability advantage synthetic blends can’t match.— Allison Palmer, Sacbee.com, 21 Apr. 2026
-
Amnesty International has said that the use of the death penalty under the new measure could violate the right to life and the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as enshrined in international law.— Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
This creates a jarring effect as the significance of her busy endeavours is sublimated by the perverted impulse to judge her physical form.— Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026
-
Udo Kier is the perverted master of ceremonies in this three-ring circus of deviancy from director Paul Morrissey, which takes Frankenstein’s romantic necrophilia and distills it to its glistening, taboo essence.— Katie Rife, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Bakri’s face is impassive and exhausted during this casual debasement, his voice low, and his tone deadpan, as though Salim has been forced to do all this a million times before.— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
-
Investors who are particularly concerned about currency debasement or geopolitical instability — both of which have driven gold's price run in recent years — may also find the physical gold component meaningful.— Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
An early discussion about social contracts comes down to us in Plato’s dialogue Crito in which Socrates, condemned to death for allegedly corrupting the youth, refused an offer to escape from prison.— George G. Szpiro, Big Think, 9 Apr. 2026
-
Meanwhile, the Pima County Sheriff Office investigating Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance is facing troubles of its own, as a former sheriff has accused current leadership of ‘corrupting’ the crime scene, and a deputy has been arrested and fired on a kidnapping charge.— Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
State caseworkers have sent an untold number of elders in their care to a coterie of homes with a history of hurting, ignoring or humiliating their residents, records and anguished families say.— Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2026
-
These clips often use humor and pop‑culture aesthetics—even LEGO‑style animations—to show Iran’s late supreme leader outsmarting and humiliating his American adversaries.— Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Her pictures, which start innocently enough from the puppy-dog idea, get increasingly demeaning.— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
-
Leadership was abusive, inappropriate and demeaning, employees told The Denver Post.— Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Another former aide said that quiet guidance shared among female staffers focused on behavior that is legal, but nevertheless viewed as unprofessional and unbecoming of members of Congress — a line that has prevented many from speaking out publicly.— Justine McDaniel, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
-
But doing things the easy way has been unbecoming of the Ducks, who fell behind by two goals, circled the wagons to force overtime but then stumbled in the bonus session, 4-3, off Marco Rossi’s OT winner.— Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Washington, in turn, was desperate to avoid a humiliation evoking memories of the botched US attempt to rescue 53 embassy staff held hostage by Iran in 1980.— The Week UK, TheWeek, 11 Apr. 2026
-
These two instances of humiliation, which could have caused an American auto exec to lash out, drove Toyoda to rethink his company’s methodology.— Caleb Jacobs, The Drive, 9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Debasing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/debasing. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
