debase
verb (used with object)
to reduce in quality or value; adulterate.
was debasing
-
past progressiveof debase.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
McFadden, a former investment banker with a law degree from Georgetown, was debasing not only his opponent but also, quite explicitly, himself.
From New York Times ● Oct. 28, 2014
I was debasing myself for minuscule scraps of affection.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 5, 2013
Much of the work was debasing and menial; its performance left her weak and irritable; she believed that it was gradually breaking the little spirit she had brought from Mrs Gowler's nursing home.
From Sparrows: the story of an unprotected girl by Horace W. C. (Horace Wykeham Can) Newte
So she stooped to guile and detested the flannel all the more deeply because of the state to which it was debasing an upright conscience and a high sense of honor.
From New Faces by Charles F. Neagle
Her father had served with distinction and honor this same commonwealth that her husband was debasing; he had been a statesman, not a politician, not a boss.
From A Hoosier Chronicle by F. C. (Frederick Coffay) Yohn
