cheapen
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make cheap or cheaper.
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to lower in esteem; bring into contempt.
Constant swearing cheapened him.
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to decrease the quality or beauty of; make inferior or vulgar.
She cheapened the dress by adding a fringe to it.
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Archaic. to bargain for.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become lower in reputation, quality, etc; degrade or be degraded
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to make or become cheap or cheaper
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cheapensimple
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cheapenssimple
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have cheapenedperfect
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has cheapenedperfect
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am cheapeningprogressive
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are cheapeningprogressive
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is cheapeningprogressive
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have been cheapeningperfect progressive
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has been cheapeningperfect progressive
Past
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cheapenedsimple
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had cheapenedperfect
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was cheapeningprogressive
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were cheapeningprogressive
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had been cheapeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cheapen
1555–65; cheap + -en 1; replacing Middle English chepen (> obsolete English cheap (v.)) to price, bargain, Old English cēapian to bargain, trade, buy; cognate with Old Norse kaupa, Gothic kaupōn, German kaufen
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A deterioration in the U.S. deficit is also causing Treasurys to cheapen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Both seasons of the show demonstrate that only the wealthy can afford to indulge in extreme emotional displays or cheapen honest ones.
From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026
The Japanese government doesn’t want its currency to cheapen dramatically; that makes it more expensive for Japanese citizens to buy what they need.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
The question that vexed me as I left La Jolla Playhouse, where “Working Girl” is receiving its world premiere, is why must musicals so often cheapen their source material?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2025
Finally he spoke the three simple words that no amount of bad art or bad faith can ever quite cheapen.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
But for a fair number of others, the main objection is that Summerween cheapens Halloween — that to celebrate a summer facsimile will dilute the real thing.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Chill on the AI it cheapens the brand,” one wrote on Instagram.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
"If a university is willing to look the other way and not hold faculty accountable for engaging in academically dishonest behavior, it cheapens its mission and the value of its education," Ms Fox said.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2023
It takes something away from your relationships, it cheapens them.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 19, 2022
It cheapens everything, doesn’t it, if this man thinks we’re only giving him everything we have on us because we may not have any use for it ten minutes from now.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
As these markets have cheapened, investors may want to look at deeply discounted BDCs and closed-end junk-bond and leveraged-loan funds.
From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026
"It cheapened the film for me," agrees Gemma Haynes, while another fan, Nastassja Loots, says it "looks fake and people can see through it".
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
Years of sluggish economic growth have cheapened British assets, making the U.K. a happy hunting ground for private-equity firms and the world’s rich.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2025
And despite playing in an era where individual pitching wins are greatly cheapened, Kershaw has 51 more wins than Koufax.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2025
She could not believe he had brought Arize up like that, cheapened Arize’s memory in order to make a point in a spurious argument.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Far from cheapening the brand, Ferrari’s rabid base of superfans only enhances the brand’s appeal to clients who can afford to pay millions of dollars for a car they will rarely drive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
This time, we’re seeing the actor’s answer to “The Studio,” only instead of satirizing the industry’s artistically cheapening franchise obsession, it warns of the full extinction of originality by way of ChatGPT.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2026
"The way they do their buffet and their salad bar, it feels like they are cheapening on their quality and have lower standards...They're giving away so much food and you're like 'How?'"
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025
On the energy front, motor fuel may be cheapening, but fuel and electricity for home use are still pricey.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2024
In his irritable state, to have her abjectly cheapening herself vexed him as much as everything else she had done that day had vexed him.
From The Pastor's Wife by Arnim, Elizabeth von
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
