debauching

verb

present participle of debauch
as in corrupting
to lower in character, dignity, or quality the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew to the point where they no longer acted like naval professionals

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of debauching The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts. — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debauching
  1. corrupting
  2. degrading
  3. weakening
  4. subverting
  5. deteriorating
  6. debasing
  7. poisoning
  8. humiliating
Verb
  • Instead, in trying to explain what made both Murdoch and Lamb tick in those early days, Boyle and Graham show us just how intoxicating and corrupting this kind of success can be.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The Apology is Plato’s version of the speech of self-defense Socrates gives when he is tried by the city of Athens for corrupting the youth and not believing in the gods.
    — Agnes Callard, The New York Review of Books, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of corrupting
Verb
  • For instance, excess ions fail to enter the graphite quickly enough and form performance-degrading metallic deposits on the surface (lithium plating).
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The Tate brothers built a global following, became extremely wealthy, and gained cultural and political influence by degrading and harming women.
    — Jodi Bondi Norgaard, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of degrading
Verb
  • If superconductivity in magic-angle graphene were primarily driven by phonons, or vibrations of the atomic lattice, weakening Coulomb interactions would be expected to leave the effect largely unchanged or even strengthen it slightly.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Caterpillar carries a weakening relative strength score of just 4 out of 10 versus the S & P 500.
    — Tony Zhang, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • The film’s procedural aspect ticks along just fine, holding the attention without subverting expectations, and carried by actors who, much like the detectives in this case, are ultra-capable professionals with no inclination to go rogue on us.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The show also pokes fun at the late 1990s and early 2000s liberal cultural consensus that was upheld in other popular culture of the time while also both replicating and subverting stereotypes of suburban Southern white Americans.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of subverting
Verb
  • Venezuela's industry has suffered from decades of underinvestment, deteriorating infrastructure and the loss of technical expertise.
    — Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The woods surrounding the cottage also needed work to remove trash, deteriorating hunting structures and invasive species, the letter said.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of deteriorating
Verb
  • Most of us would deny that any socially useful work can be or should be debasing.
    — Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
  • Blanche is debasing himself and the law in this shameful pursuit.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2026
Definition of debasing
Verb
  • This is the league, remember, where a man (Harvey Updyke) confessed to poisoning the trees at Auburn on a radio show after Alabama lost to the Tigers, and a coach (Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State) castrated a bull to motivate his squad.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
  • See affected product Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually start six hours to six days after ingesting the bacteria.
    — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of poisoning
Verb
  • The Iranians are now setting the terms of this conflict and are routinely humiliating the American president.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Instead of demanding personal fealty or humiliating them to assert personal dominance, Lincoln absorbed their egos and occasional slights, elevating their talents and turning his fiercest political adversaries into his most devoted champions.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 24 June 2026
Definition of humiliating

Browse Nearby Words

debauches
debauching
debilitate
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Cite this Entry

“Debauching.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debauching. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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