bastardize
bastardize Lexical Profile
bastardize Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To corrupt, debase, or lower the quality or integrity of something by adding inferior, foreign, or incongruous elements.
"Purists argued that the commercial adaptation would bastardize the author's original literary vision."
To declare or render someone legally illegitimate in birth (now chiefly historical).
"By annulling his previous marriage, the monarch effectively moved to bastardize his eldest daughter."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although derived from a historically pejorative noun, the verb 'bastardize' (spelled 'bastardise' in British English) is widely accepted in formal and academic criticism to describe the corruption or debasement of a language, art form, or tradition.
• Rhymes for bastardize
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the late 16th century from the noun 'bastard' (from Old French 'bastart', meaning an illegitimate child) combined with the verbal suffix '-ize'.