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Definition of debase verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

debase

verb
 
/dɪˈbeɪs/
 
/dɪˈbeɪs/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they debase
 
/dɪˈbeɪs/
 
/dɪˈbeɪs/
he / she / it debases
 
/dɪˈbeɪsɪz/
 
/dɪˈbeɪsɪz/
past simple debased
 
/dɪˈbeɪst/
 
/dɪˈbeɪst/
past participle debased
 
/dɪˈbeɪst/
 
/dɪˈbeɪst/
-ing form debasing
 
/dɪˈbeɪsɪŋ/
 
/dɪˈbeɪsɪŋ/
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  1. debase somebody/something to make somebody/something less valuable or respected synonym devalue
    • Sport is being debased by commercial sponsorship.
    Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘humiliate, belittle’): from de- ‘down’ + the obsolete verb base (compare with abase), expressing the notion ‘bring down completely’.
See debase in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
indeed
adverb
 
 
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OPAL spoken words
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