Meaning & use
debased
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Lowered in quality, value, or moral worth.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: debased standards.
Patterns
- debased by something
Critics said the debased language of the ads harmed culture.
The old moral code seemed debased by greed.
Debased standards led to poor workmanship.
adjectivebefore a nountechnicalfinance
Made less valuable because a cheaper metal was mixed in, as of a coin.
Grammar: Applies to coins and currency.
Patterns
- debased currency
The emperor issued debased coins to pay his army.
Debased silver coins lost trust.
The currency was so debased that prices soared.
Word forms
| comparative | more debased |
|---|---|
| superlative | most debased |
Common combinations
- debased currency
- Debased currency caused inflation.
- debased coinage
- The king's debased coinage angered merchants.
- debased language
- He lamented the debased language of politics.
- morally debased
- The book depicts a morally debased society.
- debased standards
- Debased standards invite scandal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- degraded
- Degraded stresses lowering in dignity or rank, whereas debased stresses lowering of quality or value.
- corrupted
- Corrupted suggests spoiling by bad influence, often with dishonesty.
- cheapened
- Cheapened is plainer and less severe, stressing a drop in worth.
- adulterated
- Adulterated refers to goods made impure by adding inferior material.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: debased or debate? debased or abased?
debased vs debate
Debate means to argue formally and is only a similar-looking word.
debased vs abased
Abased means humbled or lowered in one's own dignity, usually by choice.
Practice
The government printed so much cheap metal into its coins that the currency became ____.
Choose one answer.
Debased means lowered in value or purity, which is what happens to coins mixed with cheap metal. The other words look similar but have different meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “debased”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.