1
as in to reduce
to diminish the price or value of
a glutted market cheapened cranberries to the point where they were selling for less than what it cost to grow them
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
a politician who would cheapen herself by caving in to lobbyists
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3
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
she really cheapens herself by shamelessly pursuing men like that
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cheapen
The dilemma recalls Otto Preminger’s Whirlpool and Where the Sidewalk Ends, post-WWII films about personal probity but without the melodramatic hype that cheapened both.
—
Armond White, National Review, 22 Nov. 2024
But hearing the prophecy in this context only serves to cheapen it.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 7 July 2024
Cost-cutting had cheapened the vehicle, and the two available naturally aspirated four-cylinder engines were tuned for efficiency rather than performance.
—Michael Harley, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
Otto is also suicidal — something A Man Called Otto never sufficiently dramatizes, cheapening the codger’s despair as the film prepares for the feel-good ending to come.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cheapen
Armond White, National Review, 22 Nov. 2024
But hearing the prophecy in this context only serves to cheapen it.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 7 July 2024
Cost-cutting had cheapened the vehicle, and the two available naturally aspirated four-cylinder engines were tuned for efficiency rather than performance.
—Michael Harley, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
Otto is also suicidal — something A Man Called Otto never sufficiently dramatizes, cheapening the codger’s despair as the film prepares for the feel-good ending to come.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cheapen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cheapen
Verb
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This has, among other losses, reduced Egyptian revenue from the Suez Canal by about eight hundred million dollars a month.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2025
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Cost Savings: Automation reduces labor costs and minimizes errors.—
Chris Gallagher,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Thimerosal degrades into ethylmercury, which was judged not to be a danger at the level that would come from a vaccine.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Apr. 2025
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The quality degrades a bit after the sun goes down.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Trump World even humiliated Abe by letting it be known that Abe had nominated the U.S. leader for a Nobel Peace Prize.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
29 Mar. 2025
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The temptation for Russia to humiliate London and Paris - by breaking any ceasefire with an attack carried out hundreds of miles away from British and French troops stuck in the capital - could prove hard to resist.—
Andrew Carey,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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One way that could happen would be for foreign countries to weaken their currency to make the same product cheaper in dollars for tariff purposes, without raising the end cost to the consumer.—
Brendan Coffey,
Sportico.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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But that progress stalled out around the turn of the year, which weakened the case for further rate cuts and ultimately prompted the Fed to stand pat in January.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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His tariffs were not based on the import taxes charged by other countries but by the size of each trade deficit, a calculation that instantly discredited the policy with many economists and investors.—
Time,
Time,
10 Apr. 2025
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Bolsonaro’s efforts to discredit the election had already found allies abroad.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Project 2025 is explicitly derived from the processes used by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to subvert his country’s democracy and by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to subvert the inchoate democratic movement after the fall of the Soviet Union.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
4 Apr. 2025
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With a limited color palette and very spare design, the show subverts the commonplace elements of an office and invents a haunting visual language all its own that creeps you out while drawing you in.—
Charlotte Collins,
Architectural Digest,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Mariah Carey just pulled a classic mom move by embarrassing her teenage son in front of his friends.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
5 Apr. 2025
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The leaking was intended to embarrass Bork, whose nomination was ultimately rejected by the U.S. Senate albeit for reasons unrelated to his rental list.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This is the record business of half a century ago; demeaning slurs are tossed around.—
Ian Frazier,
The New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2025
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He is wearied but stays firm in the notion that his job isn’t to badger and demean the half of the country that disagrees with him.—
Ismail Muhammad,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cheapen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheapen. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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