different between worsen vs debase

English

Etymology

worse +? -en

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?w??(r)s?n/

  Rhymes: -??(r)s?n

Verb

worsen (third-person singular simple present worsens, present participle worsening, simple past and past participle worsened)

1. (transitive) To make worse; to impair.

   The global warming has worsened the weather.

   • 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society

     It is apparent that, in the particular point of which we have been conversing, their condition is greatly worsened.

2. (intransitive) To become worse; to get worse.

   The weather has worsened.

3. (transitive, obsolete) To get the better of; to worst.

Synonyms

• (to make worse): aggravate, exacerbate; See also Thesaurus:aggravate
• (to become worse): decline, deteriorate; See also Thesaurus:worsen
• (to get the better of): better, defeat, overpower

Antonyms

• improve
• ameliorate

Translations

Anagrams

• Rewson, owners, resown, rowens, snower, sworne

English

Etymology

From de- +? base, from Old French bas, from Latin bassus. Cognate with Spanish debajo (“under, beneath, below”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d??be?s/
• Rhymes: -e?s

Verb

debase (third-person singular simple present debases, present participle debasing, simple past and past participle debased)

1. (transitive) To lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade.
   • 1961 May 9, Newton N. Minow, "Television and the Public Interest":

     And just as history will decide whether the leaders of today's world employed the atom to destroy the world or rebuild it for mankind's benefit, so will history decide whether today's broadcasters employed their powerful voice to enrich the people or to debase them.

2. (transitive, archaic) To lower in position or rank.
3. (transitive) To lower the value of (a currency) by reducing the amount of valuable metal in the coins.

Synonyms

• (lower in character, quality, or value): abase, adulterate, degrade, demean

Derived terms

Translations

References

Anagrams

• e-based, sea bed, seabed