cheapen

[ chee-puhn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to make cheap or cheaper.
2. to lower in esteem; bring into contempt:

   Constant swearing cheapened him.

3. to decrease the quality or beauty of; make inferior or vulgar:

   She cheapened the dress by adding a fringe to it.

4. Archaic. to bargain for.

verb (used without object)

1. to become cheap or cheaper.

cheapen

/ ˈtʃiːpən /

verb

1. to make or become lower in reputation, quality, etc; degrade or be degraded
2. to make or become cheap or cheaper

Derived Forms

• ˈcheapener, noun

Other Words From

• cheapen·er noun
• un·cheapened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cheapen¹

1555–65; cheap + -en ¹; replacing Middle English chepen (> obsolete English cheap (v.)) to price, bargain, Old English cēapian to bargain, trade, buy; cognate with Old Norse kaupa, Gothic kaupōn, German kaufen

Example Sentences

“So why — when you have this amazing megaphone and this amazing ability to communicate — why would you cheapen your show by saying things like that?”

From Los Angeles Times

Lithium batteries have cheapened at a comparable pace, and the cost of wind turbines has dropped steadily too, albeit at a slower rate.

From Los Angeles Times

It “demeans and cheapens our politics. It only serves to further discourage good, big-hearted people from wanting to get involved at all. America, our parents taught us better than that.”

From Salon

Others argued that its inclusion would cheapen the connection to its roots Black and Latino communities in New York.

From Los Angeles Times

But he said using the antisemitic label to achieve political ends could cheapen it.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• debase
• degrade
• demean
• denigrate
• disparage
• mar
• minimize