debase
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.
See Examples For:
That trade is based on the view that investors will turn to alternative assets like gold or bitcoin on worries that stubborn government deficits and higher inflation will debase currencies like the dollar.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026
His motives are obvious: He’s a bully and it’s fun for him to watch people debase themselves to please him.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 2026
These stories tell us that Diogenes was chased out of his native Sinope, on the north coast of what’s now Turkey, for his supposed role in a scheme to debase the city’s currency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
“You don’t have to embarrass our guest by asking a question like that,” Trump said, then he proceeded to debase a journalist who wasn’t there to report on the event because he’d been silenced, forever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 20, 2025
Once, though, I heard Rita say to Cora that she wouldn’t debase herself like that.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
![]()
One weak point is the film’s overbearing musical score, by Kadmon, which debases events by giving them the feel of low-budget action filmmaking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
And that vision, that fight, in the midst of everything that degrades and debases you, you pull upon community, you pull upon cultural power, you pull upon your spirituality, and you pull upon hope.
From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2020
Said corporation's very wealthy owner insults the court and her client, then debases Julius himself after the judge has the man jailed for contempt, which he is well within his rights to do.
From Salon ● May 14, 2020
Art museum membership is usually pitched as a way to get admission discounts, which debases the museum enterprise as a mere commercial transaction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2019
It is so simple a fact and one that is so hard, apparently, to grasp: Whoever debases others is debasing himself.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
![]()
A currency is never debased in the hearing.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
Whereas the European gothic, he concludes, was “an enlightened attack on a debased ruling class or entrenched superstition,” its American version emerged as “a Calvinist exposé of natural human corruption.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
The very concepts of intellectualism, and of objective knowledge itself, have been debased by a kind of Gresham’s Law, with the bad driving out the good.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2026
Scottish National Party MP John Nicolson said the post was "nauseating" and that it "cheapened and debased" politics.
From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2023
Working as a lawyer in South Africa meant operating under a debased system of justice, a code of law that did not enshrine equality but its opposite.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
![]()
Robbie’s most deliciously debasing scene is when she throws coins on the ground for a desperate beggar — and then that person forces her to watch as he picks them up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Argentina has a history of debasing its currency, which is why its people keep billions of dollars in coffee cans, home safes and mattresses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025
Dismissing the case, Mr Justice Chamberlain said Yaxley-Lennon's own barrister had accepted there was no evidence his client had been segregated "for the purpose of breaking his resistance or humiliating or debasing him".
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2025
How debasing it feels to beg for that macaroni noodle.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 1, 2022
It is so simple a fact and one that is so hard, apparently, to grasp: Whoever debases others is debasing himself.
From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin
![]()
Vocabulary lists containing debase
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Advanced English Words
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a word