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
Christ reduced to a potato chip, debased and vilified like two thousand years ago.
—
Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
After the second-longest bout of hyperinflation on record anywhere (with 45 months in hyperinflationary conditions between 2017 and 2021), the government is preparing to further debase the bolivar, the nation’s ailing currency.
—Moisés Naím, Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2021
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
Bitcoin’s edge over gold lies in its unparalleled scarcity and technological attributes—a mix between a tech stock and gold that cannot be debased and can settle globally in minutes.
—Ansel Lindner, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for debase
Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
After the second-longest bout of hyperinflation on record anywhere (with 45 months in hyperinflationary conditions between 2017 and 2021), the government is preparing to further debase the bolivar, the nation’s ailing currency.
—Moisés Naím, Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2021
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
Bitcoin’s edge over gold lies in its unparalleled scarcity and technological attributes—a mix between a tech stock and gold that cannot be debased and can settle globally in minutes.
—Ansel Lindner, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for debase
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debase
Verb
-
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
-
The quality degrades a bit after the sun goes down.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Bolsonaro’s efforts to discredit the election had already found allies abroad.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
More broadly, consumer sentiment has declined and retail sales growth has weakened, reflecting the uncertainty of customers over where the economy is headed.—
Harry Holzer,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
This is the record business of half a century ago; demeaning slurs are tossed around.—
Ian Frazier,
The New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2025
-
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
Verb
-
Banks couldn’t simply restore from backups because those records had also been corrupted.—
Jim Dobson,
Forbes.com,
4 Apr. 2025
-
Examples include divulging end users’ confidential contacts or emails and delivering falsified answers that have the potential to corrupt the integrity of important calculations.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
In season two, when Mike White’s series decamped to Sicily, the credits riffed on Italian frescoes that got increasingly debauched — with a beat drop from opera to EDM.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debase.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debase. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share