debauch

[dih-bawch]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR debauch ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to corrupt by sensuality, intemperance, etc.; seduce.

to corrupt or pervert; sully: His honesty was debauched by the prospect of easy money.

Archaic. to lead away, as from allegiance or duty.

verb (used without object)

to indulge in debauchery.

noun

a period of wanton or sensual self-indulgence.

an uninhibited spree or party; orgy: a wild debauch.

Origin of debauch

1585–95; < French débaucher to entice away from duty, debauch, Old French desbauchier to disperse, scatter, equivalent to des- dis-¹ + -bauchier, derivative of bauc, bauch beam (< Germanic; see balcony, balk; compare French ébaucher to rough-hew); hence, presumably, to hew (beams) > to split, separate > to separate from work or duty

Related formsde·bauch·er, nounde·bauch·ment, noun

Can be confuseddebauch debouch

Synonyms for debauch

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR debauch ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See debase.

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

Related Words for debauch

defile, pervert, pollute, inveigle, bastardize, debase, violate, seduce, subvert, ruin, vitiate, deflower, demoralize, betray, lure, warp, abuse, tempt, fraternize, ravish

Examples from the Web for debauch

Historical Examples of debauch

In a moment the cobwebs of his debauch began to fall from him, and he became alert.
The Law-Breakers
Ridgwell Cullum
Of the younger men, many were sleeping off the debauch of the previous evening.
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
Is it no part of the price that you spend your days in pleasure and your nights in debauch?
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
Can I even trust him in hours of convivial abandonment and debauch?
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
The old chief seemed contrite after his debauch, but did not mention it.
Rodney, the Ranger
John V. Lane

British Dictionary definitions for debauch

debauch

verb

(when tr, usually passive) to lead into a life of depraved self-indulgence

(tr) to seduce (a woman)

noun

an instance or period of extreme dissipation

Derived Formsdebauchedly (dɪˈbɔːtʃɪdlɪ), adverbdebauchedness, noundebaucher, noundebauchery or debauchment, noun

Word Origin for debauch

C16: from Old French desbaucher to corrupt, literally: to shape (timber) roughly, from bauch beam, of Germanic origin

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

Word Origin and History for debauch

1590s, from Middle French débaucher "entice from work or duty," from Old French desbaucher "to lead astray," supposedly literally "to trim (wood) to make a beam" (from bauch "beam," from Frankish balk or some other Germanic source akin to English balk). A sense of "shaving" something away, perhaps, but the root is also said to be a word meaning "workshop," which gets toward the notion of "to lure someone off the job;" either way the sense evolution is unclear.