HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY
To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.
Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.
THE USAGE PANEL
The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions.
AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP
The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android.
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG
The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more.
INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?
Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com
tr.v. de·based, de·bas·ing, de·bas·es To lower in character, quality, or value; degrade. de·basement n. de·baser n. Synonyms: debase, degrade, abase, demean2 These verbs mean to lower in character or quality. Debase implies reduction in quality or value: "debasing the moral currency" (George Eliot). Degrade implies reduction to a state of shame or disgrace: "If I pitied you for crying ... you should spurn such pity.... Rise, and don't degrade yourself into an abject reptile!" (Emily Brontë). Abase refers principally to loss of rank or prestige: "Meg pardoned him, and Mrs. March's grave face relaxed ... when she heard him declare that he would ... abase himself like a worm before the injured damsel" (Louisa May Alcott). Demean suggests lowering in social position: "It puts him where he can make the advances without demeaning himself" (William Dean Howells). See Also Synonyms at corrupt. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
