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

Derived Forms

• debasedness
  noun
• undebased
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of debased

debase ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

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

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

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025

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

Turner thought about getting to work on conquering his debased self, but decided that could wait till morning.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt