as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
bastardize the art form by adapting it to popular taste
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Recent Examples of bastardize
Over the years, though, the cocktail has become bastardized into a sugary drink containing all sorts of fruit juices and sweeteners, causing it to be denegrated alongside the likes of Long Island Ice Teas and Strawberry Daiquiris.
—
Tori Latham, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2023
These white people in blackface entertained the masses with stereotypes of Blackness, bastardizing the Black identity in the process.
—Tayo Bero, refinery29.com, 4 Apr. 2023
Society, this week, also bastardized two wholesome childhood fixtures, SunnyD and Girl Scout Cookies.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 10 Mar. 2023
What does a profession license mean if you’re allowed to bastardize the court system that way.
—Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2020
Videos that bastardize neighborhood names, or cluelessly treat storied establishments like new discoveries.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2022
To bastardize the bands Pablo Cruise or Yes, love will always find a way.
—Outside Online, 13 Feb. 2021
As a carcass decomposes, the bacteria in the body itself runs rampant, producing its signature stink and bastardizing the soil’s microbiome.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 21 Jan. 2020
The initial fear that the band was going to make a killing on wading-pool-deep music and basically bastardize country music was way off-base.
—Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, 8 Jan. 2020
Tori Latham, Robb Report, 17 Apr. 2023
These white people in blackface entertained the masses with stereotypes of Blackness, bastardizing the Black identity in the process.
—Tayo Bero, refinery29.com, 4 Apr. 2023
Society, this week, also bastardized two wholesome childhood fixtures, SunnyD and Girl Scout Cookies.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 10 Mar. 2023
What does a profession license mean if you’re allowed to bastardize the court system that way.
—Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, 13 Dec. 2020
Videos that bastardize neighborhood names, or cluelessly treat storied establishments like new discoveries.
—Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2022
To bastardize the bands Pablo Cruise or Yes, love will always find a way.
—Outside Online, 13 Feb. 2021
As a carcass decomposes, the bacteria in the body itself runs rampant, producing its signature stink and bastardizing the soil’s microbiome.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 21 Jan. 2020
The initial fear that the band was going to make a killing on wading-pool-deep music and basically bastardize country music was way off-base.
—Chuck Yarborough, cleveland, 8 Jan. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastardize
Verb
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To strip her name from her and contort it into a term that is most often used to degrade artists who look like her is simply dehumanizing.—
Kyle Denis,
Billboard,
11 Feb. 2025
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Topaz Labs View 1 Images Topaz Labs, which makes powerful photo and video enhancement software, just showed off a new AI model that automatically enhances old footage, from your home video collection to archival content that may have degraded over time on traditional media.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
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At the same time, nations are engaging in cross-border efforts to use disinformation and other forms of propaganda to subvert elections, while some technology, media, and political leaders aid the spread of lies and conspiracy theories.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
28 Jan. 2025
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To subvert whiteness with Blackness as a cultural and psychological lingua franca cannot possibly undo the wounds that molded modern Blackness in the first place, a diasporic concern that places even the most joyous liberation and self-expression in an especially morose context.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Moreover, much of the Republican Party now embraces the idea that America’s institutions—from the federal bureaucracy and public schools to the media and private universities—have been corrupted by left-wing ideologies.—
STEVEN LEVITSKY,
Foreign Affairs,
11 Feb. 2025
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Putin believes in authoritarianism, in a strong Russian state, in the rehabilitation of the country’s Soviet past, and in a Russian civilization that is superior to a West corrupted by secularism and individualism.—
Rich Lowry,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Take the tablet straight to the furniture for scrubbing, or dilute it with water for a gentler cleanse.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
9 Feb. 2025
-
That’s not a bad thing: Even 12 years after its release, Elf remains a pretty stellar all-ages comedy that doesn’t dilute Ferrell’s manic mayhem but rather boils it down to its most accessible and lovable.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The biggest threat facing the pair is senior MI6 official Jim Richardson (Hugh Bonneville), who has been keeping tabs on the Sudanese, and sees in Martian’s love for Samia an opportunity to both humiliate and strong-arm his former ally into sharing CIA secrets.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
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Someone may be a masochist but not into being humiliated.—
Fran Tirado,
Them,
10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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His illuminating backstage account of cable news describes thoughtful journalists debasing themselves in their scramble to retain straying viewers.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
-
Only by allowing himself to be debased can this man actually come to understand God.—
Kevin Lincoln,
Vulture,
20 Jan. 2025
Verb
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In the bond market, Treasury yields fell after a report said sales at U.S. retailers weakened by much more last month than economists expected.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2025
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His executive order, unless reversed by the courts, will encourage greater corruption in Latin America, hurting the region’s economies, weakening democratic institutions and making countries poorer.—
Andres Oppenheimer,
Miami Herald,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In addition to Meester and Brody, Cameron Mathison, Anna Faris, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes and Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag were among the stars who confirmed that their homes were also destroyed.—
Stephanie Wenger,
People.com,
8 Feb. 2025
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The storm destroyed every structure on the island, wiping out the concert stage, tiki bar, giant slide and food truck.—
Gabrielle Calise Tampa Bay Times (TNS),
arkansasonline.com,
8 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near bastardize
Cite this Entry
“Bastardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardize. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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