Dictionary Definition
debase
Verb
1 corrupt morally or by intemperance or
sensuality; "debauch the young people with wine and women";
"Socrates was accused of corrupting young men"; "Do school
counselors subvert young children?"; "corrupt the morals" [syn:
corrupt, pervert, subvert, demoralize, demoralise, debauch, profane, vitiate, deprave, misdirect]
2 lower in value by increasing the base-metal
content [syn: alloy]
3 corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a
foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable
ingredients with inferior ones; "adulterate liquor" [syn: adulterate, stretch, dilute]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -eɪs
Synonyms
Translations
lower in character, etc
- Finnish: huonontaa, heikentää
- French: abâtardir
- German: erniedrigen, entwürdigen, herabsetzen, mindern, verschlechtern
- Spanish: degradar
Derived terms
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
abase,
abash, abuse, adulterate, alloy, bastardize, bear down,
befoul, belittle, bring down, bring
into discredit, bring low, bring shame upon, brutalize, bump, bust, canker, cast down, cast reproach
upon, cheapen, coarsen, commercialize, confound, contaminate, convert, corrupt, couch, cripple, crush, cry down, cut, damage, debauch, debilitate, decry, defalcate, defile, deflower, defrock, degenerate, degrade, demean, demoralize, demote, denaturalize, denature, deplume, deprave, deprecate, depreciate, depress, derogate from, desecrate, despoil, detract from, detrude, devalue, dilute, diminish, disable, disapprove of, discredit, disgrace, disgrade, dishonor, disparage, displume, distort, divert, doctor, doctor up, downbear, downgrade, dump, dump on, embezzle, enfeeble, fortify, foul, harm, haul down, hold in contempt,
humble, humiliate, impair, impute shame to, indent, infect, injure, knock, lace, let down, load, lower, make little of, maladminister, mar, minimize, misapply, misappropriate, misemploy, mishandle, mismanage, misuse, peculate, pervert, pilfer, pillory, poison, pollute, press down, profane, prostitute, pull down, push
down, put down, put to shame, ravage, ravish, reduce, reflect discredit upon,
reproach, rot, run down, sap, set down, shame, sink, slight, sophisticate, speak ill of,
spike, spoil, stain, strip of rank, submit to
indignity, taint, take
down, tamper with, thrust down, trip up, twist, ulcerate, undermine, unfrock, violate, vitiate, vulgarize, warp, water, water down, weaken, weight, worsen