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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Most microplastics are made on land, where larger plastic debris degrades into tinier and tinier pieces.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
7 Mar. 2025
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Globalstar, on the other hand, claims that opening up the 1.6GHz and 2.4GHz bands to other companies risks generating interference with its own satellite systems, potentially degrading the satellite connectivity for iPhones.—
Michael Kan,
PCMAG,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In the past decade, some liberals and progressives have ignored or even worked to subvert free-speech norms, a matter that has been extensively covered in the press.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
The New Yorker,
14 Mar. 2025
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Another artist new to me was Summer Wheat at the Nazarian/Curcio booth whose paintings subvert traditional representation of women and look like textiles but is actually paint applied through a rigorous process.—
Tom Teicholz,
Forbes,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Sensor Noise: Typically measured with signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), this parameter quantifies how much the signal has been corrupted by noise.—
Elizabeth Duffy,
Forbes,
11 Mar. 2025
-
Information tends to get lost or corrupted during transitions.—
Tom Rogers,
Newsweek,
22 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Old-timers’ fears of diversity diluting the unique Vienna affect — the blend of instruments being a wonder of the orchestral world — proved unsurprisingly unfounded.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2025
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Expand only when revenue and opportunity justify it, allowing growth without diluting your brand or abandoning your core audience.—
Rolling Stone Culture Council,
Rolling Stone,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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No, Trump Did Not ‘Bring Back Free Speech’ An August 2024 report by Columbia’s task force on antisemitism found that Jews and Israelis at Columbia were often ostracized and humiliated on campus.—
Solcyré Burga,
TIME,
7 Mar. 2025
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Committee Chairman James Comer will use the hearing to humiliate blue-city mayors and to please the White House and fire up his extremist MAGA base.—
Peter Cunningham,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 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
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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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Consumers are already losing confidence and pulling back on spending, weakening a key engine of the economy.—
Axios,
Axios,
11 Mar. 2025
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In an all-staff e-mail, Dudek wrote: Criticism, contempt, stonewalling, and defensiveness are the four forces that can end any relationship and weaken any institution. . .—
E. Tammy Kim,
The New Yorker,
11 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Taking on the role of a teenage boy named Chrono, players have to travel through time and assemble a team to stop a horrifying creature named Lavos from destroying the world.—
Hayes Madsen,
Rolling Stone,
16 Mar. 2025
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Tornadoes pose a severe risk to life and property, with their powerful winds capable of destroying homes, overturning vehicles, and uprooting trees.—
Mark Davis,
Newsweek,
16 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bastardize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastardize. Accessed 22 Mar. 2025.
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