debauch

Synonym Chooser

How is the word debauch different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of debauch are corrupt, debase, deprave, pervert, and vitiate. While all these words mean "to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character," debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.

the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew

When would corrupt be a good substitute for debauch?

While the synonyms corrupt and debauch are close in meaning, corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.

the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language

Where would debase be a reasonable alternative to debauch?

The synonyms debase and debauch are sometimes interchangeable, but debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.

commercialism has debased the holiday

When could deprave be used to replace debauch?

Although the words deprave and debauch have much in common, deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.

the claim that society is depraved by pornography

When is pervert a more appropriate choice than debauch?

While in some cases nearly identical to debauch, pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.

perverted the original goals of the institute

When might vitiate be a better fit than debauch?

The words vitiate and debauch are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect.

a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship

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 debauch But as commercialization took hold, the event metastasized into a pit of hard drugs, drunkenness, and debauch a world apart from its bohemian origins. Charlie Campbell, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025 In season two, when Mike White’s series decamped to Sicily, the credits riffed on Italian frescoes that got increasingly debauched — with a beat drop from opera to EDM. Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2025 Life is debauched and consistent, until that handsome twentysomething gent wanders into Lee’s favorite watering hole. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2024 That doesn’t seem especially forbidden or debauched. Chris Klimek, Vulture, 17 July 2024 Instead, Mixtape Pluto is subterranean and nocturnal, hedonistic one minute and aching with regrets the next, debauched but wounded. Christopher R. Weingarten, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2024 On the evidence of this savage industry satire, the experience was souring, dehumanizing and debauching. Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024 Snook plays not just the eternally young but damnably debauched Dorian Gray, but every one of the 26 parts in two unbroken hours of ceaselessly kinetic, highly choreographed, tech-heavy action. Demetrios Matheou, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 As debauched and dirty as our film is, it’s still done so intentionally and tastefully. Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debauch
Verb
  • Israeli forces began military ground operations in Gaza, particularly the Hamas stronghold of Rafah in an effort to degrade the terror group's infrastructure, authorities said Thursday.
    Louis Casiano, Fox News, 20 Mar. 2025
  • And even roofs that are still relatively young may begin to show signs of weakness — the sealant that holds asphalt shingles in place often begins to degrade after a decade and can fail when pummeled with high winds.
    Ron Lieber, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Since signing with New Orleans in 2023, he’s mustered just a .500 record across 27 starts with injuries and inconsistent play corrupting his tenure with the team.
    Kambui Bomani, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
  • The 12-page document further claims WWE has a pattern of corrupting officials in several states and that the TKO merger was an attempt to bypass legal liabilities, without providing concrete examples.
    Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • His story of being put on a Kremlin kill list after exposing the Kremlin plot to poison Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is told in Antidote, a documentary directed by James Jones that also premiered at CPH:DOX.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 27 Mar. 2025
  • That’s the cult whose members famously took their own life drinking poisoned Kool-Aid.
    Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • 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
  • Remember, Trump kicked off his political career by claiming Obama wasn't born here, and reportedly decided to run for president only after Obama humiliated him to his face at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011.
    Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
  • In addition to the City of Hartford and Hartford School Board, the complaint named Tilda Santiago, a special education case manager who allegedly repeatedly bullied and harassed Ortiz by yelling and humiliating the teen in front of other students and teachers.
    David Chiu, People.com, 17 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Seth Jones, president of the defense and security department of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says a trade war that punishes U.S. partners in the region threatens to weaken ties with Asian allies, possibly forcing them to reassess the reliability of U.S. security commitments.
    Scott Neuman, NPR, 22 Mar. 2025
  • The doctor added that recovery would best continue away from the hospital, where exposure to viruses risks weakening the Holy Father's condition.
    Danielle Wallace, Fox News, 22 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The only conspiracy is what Bove and Bondi are engaged in, perverting a prosecution for their political gain.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Yet perverting that good news story into some tawdry political gain cheapens SpaceX, NASA, and Wilmore and Williams.
    Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 18 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • When that was challenged, whether by a game developer subverting industry norms or a woman calling out stereotypical female characters, a core contingent of gamers saw it as political correctness run amok, Massanari wrote in her book.
    Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 23 Mar. 2025
  • As the Department of Government Efficiency roars through agencies across government, its targets have included some of the organizations that Beijing worried about most, or actively sought to subvert.
    David E. Sanger, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Debauch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debauch. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

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