debase

[ dih-beys ]

/ dɪˈbeɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR debase ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), de·based, de·bas·ing.

to reduce in quality or value; adulterate: They debased the value of the dollar.

to lower in rank, dignity, or significance: He wouldn't debase himself by doing manual labor.

Nearby words

debakey, debanding, debar, debark, debarkation, debase, debasement, debatable, debate, debater, debauch

Origin of debase

1555–65; de- + base²; cf. abase

SYNONYMS FOR debase

1 lower, vitiate, corrupt; contaminate, pollute, defile.

2 degrade, abase, demean, reduce.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR debase ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

de·bas·ed·ness

[dih-bey-sid-nis, -beyst-] /dɪˈbeɪ sɪd nɪs, -ˈbeɪst-/, nounde·base·ment, nounde·bas·er, nounde·bas·ing·ly, adverb

self-de·base·ment, nounun·de·based, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for debased

Criminals and gangs were thought to be motivated by a debased sense of honor or a simple desire to seize property.
Money and Guns: How We Escape Our Existential Dread|James Poulos|April 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We see the bad with the good, the debased and decadent with the sound and vital.
Obama's Fighting Speech - Part 1|David Frum|January 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And it makes you wonder if journalism has not been so debased that foreign policy has become impossible.
Krauthammer's Libya Intervention|Bernard Avishai|October 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The whole world of criticism and reviewing has been debased because the critic now is pressured to perform as part publicist.
Letter to a Young Critic: William Giraldi Defends True Criticism|William Giraldi|September 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Latinas are debased by their poverty, thus making them accessible to any man with a few bucks.
Obama's Porn Problem With Liberals|McKay Coppins|April 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The Dutch, who have retained in a debased form their own language, also engage largely in agriculture and viticulture.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
They are not merely plebeian, they are low, debased, criminal.
The Award of Justice|A. Maynard Barbour
No one can walk along our streets and not see how debased and sensual our tastes have become.
The Germ|Various
Long oppression had not, on the whole, either blunted their intellects or debased their morals.
Creed And Deed|Felix Adler
But this view of sacrifice is not merely a heathen, but a late and debased heathen conception.
Gloria Crucis|J. H. Beibitz

British Dictionary definitions for debased

debase

/ (dɪˈbeɪs) /

verb

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

Derived Forms

debasedness (dɪˈbeɪsɪdnɪs), noundebasement, noundebaser, noundebasingly, adverb

Word Origin for debase

C16: see de-, base ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012