debase

American  

[dih-beys] / dɪˈbeɪs /

verb (used with object)

debased, debasing

1. to reduce in quality or value; adulterate.

   They debased the value of the dollar.

   Synonyms:

   defile, pollute, contaminate, corrupt, vitiate, lower

2. to lower in rank, dignity, or significance.

   He wouldn't debase himself by doing manual labor.

   Synonyms:

   reduce, demean, abase, degrade

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debase British  

/ dɪˈbeɪsɪdnɪs, dɪˈbeɪs /

verb

1. (tr) to lower in quality, character, or value, as by adding cheaper metal to coins; adulterate

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Other Word Forms

• debasedness noun
• debasement noun
• debaser noun
• debasingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of debase

First recorded in 1555–65; de- + base ²; abase

Example Sentences

Robbie’s most deliciously debasing scene is when she throws coins on the ground for a desperate beggar — and then that person forces her to watch as he picks them up.

From Los Angeles Times

The Constitution’s framers wanted to prevent the President from abusing monetary power and debasing the currency as English monarchs had done.

From The Wall Street Journal

These stories tell us that Diogenes was chased out of his native Sinope, on the north coast of what’s now Turkey, for his supposed role in a scheme to debase the city’s currency.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet she knows the history that reduced her to such a debased state.

From Los Angeles Times

Institutions, acting in their own interest, are debasing America’s pool of young, human capital.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cheapen
• demean
• demoralize
• disgrace
• dishonor
• humiliate