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:
Japan is not choosing to debase the yen.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 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
I knew he was trying to be menacing, but I didn’t feel fear so much as astonishment at the way this adult was willing to debase himself to ruin our night.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 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
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In order to emerge victorious in his quest to bring the World Cup to Mexico, De la Torre debases himself and backstabs shamelessly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
The Kremlin spokesman said it was "unlikely to infringe on our president, President Putin. But it debases those who use such vocabulary".
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2024
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
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
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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
Yet she knows the history that reduced her to such a debased state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
The most debased and tragic is Jeff, who, with his wife, has worked at the fair for decades.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2024
The remarks grew ever more debased and treacherous so that Mr Charles - at least so he claimed - was obliged to intervene with the suggestion that such talk was bad form.
From "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro
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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
The late Roman Empire undermined its commercial economy through centralization, regulation and debasing the currency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 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
And I just remember being like, “Oh my God. I feel so bad for debasing you.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 20, 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
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Vocabulary lists containing debase
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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