debase, vitiate, deprave, corrupt, debauch, pervert mean to cause deterioration or lowering in quality or character.
debase implies a loss of position, worth, value, or dignity.
commercialism has debased the holiday
vitiate implies a destruction of purity, validity, or effectiveness by allowing entrance of a fault or defect.
a foreign policy vitiated by partisanship
deprave implies moral deterioration by evil thoughts or influences.
the claim that society is depraved by pornography
corrupt implies loss of soundness, purity, or integrity.
the belief that bureaucratese corrupts the language
debauch implies a debasing through sensual indulgence.
the long stay on a tropical isle had debauched the ship's crew
pervert implies a twisting or distorting from what is natural or normal.
perverted the original goals of the institute