debased 1 of 2

debased

2 of 2

verb

past tense of debase
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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of debased
Adjective
The plates feature debased imprints of the same signature shapes, creating a dialogue with the glasses. — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 17 Sep. 2026 That wasn’t its only subject; comedy and power and misogyny and creativity and intergenerational conflict and work ethic and, especially in its last few seasons, the debased state of the entertainment industry were all richly explored through lines. — Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026 And this has lent Margot a debased sort of celebrity. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Apr. 2026 But the influencer landscape is getting debased and splintered and a bit draining, even for Kylie. — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 11 Mar. 2026 Now, several polls show that Wyomingites oppose killing wildlife with vehicles, which gives public officials in the next Legislative session an opening to prohibit this debased practice. — Wendy Keefover, Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2026 The script, penned by Bartek Bartosik and Naqqash Khalid, becomes bizarrely moralistic by the end, insinuating that the debased and debauched might perhaps see their problems solved by becoming domesticated. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Mar. 2026 In an era of debased and divisive politics, Jon Batiste is putting the pop back into populism. — Andrew Gilbert, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Dec. 2025 Only the first is still fashionable, and the last has been so debased, misused, and weaponized over the centuries as to be almost unspeakable in polite company. — Zadie Smith, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Verb
The bulk of these are in regions like Africa and South America, where governments have repeatedly debased national currencies, and prompted their citizens to seek out sturdier assets like Tether’s dollar and gold offerings instead. — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026 Look at how much the city had debased this pilgrim in six months, a year. — David Hajdu, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026 Haphazardly propped on the ground with wiring and hardware exposed, the flags appear as symbols debased and emptied after centuries of misuse. — Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026 Within this world no others exist, except as things to be debased. — David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 Dogville, from 2003, is an experimental Lars von Trier film shot on a stage set in which Kidman plays a woman debased and abused by the inhabitants of a small town. — Wendell Steavenson, Vogue, 8 Oct. 2025 Unlike bonds, which promise repayment of the primary investment at a future date, warranting demands for higher yields to offset inflation concerns, gold is a physical asset that cannot be debased by fiscal mismanagement or political interference. — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debased
Adjective
  • Design choices previously thought to boost power, such as widening the gap between electrodes, actually degraded performance under true operating conditions.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026
  • But detailed summaries of the punishments obtained by The New York Times provide the first look at how Cornell administrators apportioned blame for the alcohol and drug-fueled gathering that the woman has said left her shattered and degraded.
    — Sharon Otterman, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The audience is interacting with an object that had been scanned, that had been corrupted in some way.
    — Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Obama and Biden were corrupted by donors who wanted cheap labor.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 23 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • One of its proof points was supposed to be Maine, where Graham Platner humiliated the party establishment, then himself.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But the Saudis, humiliated by their losses in Yemen, seem likely to lash out.
    — Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • The national Democratic effort to defeat Collins kept going; now the party is spending millions on an ad hitting her for a ProPublica story about her links to a corrupt defense contractor.
    — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
  • For many voters, this view of Lula as corrupt is wrapped up with criticism of his economic policies and of the strong welfare state that the former union leader has come to embody.
    — Constance Malleret, Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Lower-ticket maintenance items have held steadier in sales, which can help to prop up the top line, but the per-store productivity weakened even where top-line sales looked flat, Graff said.
    — Kevin Williams, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The region’s long investment in coal and steel became a trap once the economic basis for those industries weakened.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The arrival of Dutch elm disease not only ravaged these green spaces, but discredited the whole goal of aiming for such uniformity.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The issue here is not with this project, which is building something artistic and beautiful, but with a broader, pro-AI tech culture that has discredited AI and its public image.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 14 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Compiling and sharing data from large races can also help event organizers assess whether changes like earlier start times or alternate dates help reduce the number of people who get sick or hurt.
    — STAT, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Add a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder, a loss, a lawsuit, a sick parent or a partner who travels, and the inventory stops being theoretical.
    — Simbiat Adighije, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The central bank's monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations found that consumers expect inflation to be even higher a year from now, while perceptions about their own financial standing deteriorated.
    — Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2026
  • However, as Germany’s economic problems — slow growth, high inflation, rising energy prices — have worsened, public sentiment toward the newcomers has deteriorated.
    — Kirsten Grieshaber, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Debased.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debased. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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