debased

[ dih-beyst ]

adjective

1. lowered in quality, character, or value:

   Part of the reason for the rise in commodities and oil is the debased dollar.

   Even in the debased conditions of wartime, people had dreams of a beautiful future.

2. lowered in rank, dignity, or significance:

   In the 1800s, many people considered show business to be a debased profession.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of debase ( def ).

Other Words From

• de·bas·ed·ness [dih-, bey, -sid-nis, -, beyst, -], noun
• un·de·based adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of debased¹

debase ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

There will be a new ball this season, the Nike Flight, which is "built with Aerowsculpt technology with grooves debased into the casing, to allow air to travel seamlessly around the ball, delivering truer flight".

From BBC

The most debased and tragic is Jeff, who, with his wife, has worked at the fair for decades.

From New York Times

Nobody has debased and humiliated themselves more chasing the approval of Donald Trump.

From Salon

In stark language over the weekend, Trump debased immigrant arrivals. even going so far as to suggest without evidence they bring disease into the U.S.

From Seattle Times

The Ayn Rand winner-take-all ethos and the thoroughly disproved trickle-down theory, which holds that helping those who need no help will somehow lift everyone up, continue to be trotted out in debased, zombified form.

From Salon