Showing results for "debased"

• past tense form of debase.
• past participle of debase.

debased

American  

[dih-beyst] / dɪˈbeɪst /

adjective

1. lowered in quality, character, or value.

   Part of the reason for the rise in commodities and oil is the debased dollar.

   Even in the debased conditions of wartime, people had dreams of a beautiful future.

2. lowered in rank, dignity, or significance.

   In the 1800s, many people considered show business to be a debased profession.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of debase.

Other Word Forms

• debasedness
  noun
• undebased
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of debased

debase ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

debased

Whereas the European gothic, he concludes, was “an enlightened attack on a debased ruling class or entrenched superstition,” its American version emerged as “a Calvinist exposé of natural human corruption.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

The very concepts of intellectualism, and of objective knowledge itself, have been debased by a kind of Gresham’s Law, with the bad driving out the good.

From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026

There will be a new ball this season, the Nike Flight, which is "built with Aerowsculpt technology with grooves debased into the casing, to allow air to travel seamlessly around the ball, delivering truer flight".

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2024

The most debased and tragic is Jeff, who, with his wife, has worked at the fair for decades.

From New York Times ● May 30, 2024

I’ve been debased through my association with you.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole