Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To make cheap or cheaper.
- v. To lower in public estimation; debase or degrade: misconduct that cheapened a high office.
- v. To become cheap or cheaper.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To ask the price of; chaffer or bargain for.
- To beat down the price of.
- To reduce in price or cost; make cheaper: as, to cheapen the cost of production; to cheapen the necessaries of life.
- To lessen the value of; depreciate or belittle; make too common: as, to cheapen one's self by being too officious.
Wiktionary
- v. transitive to decrease the value of; to make cheap
- v. transitive to make vulgar
- v. intransitive to become cheaper
- v. obsolete to bargain for, ask the price of.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. obsolescent To ask the price of; to bid, bargain, or chaffer for.
- v. To beat down the price of; to lessen the value of; to depreciate.
WordNet 3.0
- v. lower the grade of something; reduce its worth
Etymologies
- See cheap. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Does our using the word cheapen its value in describing people who have been forced from their communities by war, famine, disease, or natural disaster?”
“Opponents of the idea say it would "cheapen" the school's brand.”
The Huffington Post: Bill Gates: 'College, Except For The Parties, Needs To Be Less Place-Based'
“If the Treasury continues to ramp up TIPS sales, it will "cheapen" the bonds of existing investors, said Don Martin,”
The Wall Street Journal: U.S., in Nod to China, to Sell More TIPS
“It was then considered almost a matter of course that a shopkeeper must be offered less than he asked; and going from shop to shop to "cheapen" the articles they wanted was a common amusement of ladies.”
“Blessings in both kinds, such as cheapen tears, --”
“The dollar has also been rising and not yet hampering the rise in commodity prices, the goal was to "cheapen" US goods for export by lowering the dollar.”
Economic Outlook for the Week of December 6, 2010 - Seeking Alpha
“GORENJE RK 60355 DW the digitization process could "cheapen" your end product.”
“At any rate, they have to do something to "cheapen" it or else folks are gonna get ...”
“Of course I can understand Carnival wanting to try and formalize the process, but doesn't that kind of cheapen or defeat the purpose of social media interaction in the first place?”
“They kind of cheapen the whole laid off experience by showcasing only the "successful" and using them as examples for those still struggling to piece their lives together.”
Digital Camera Reviews, Digital Photography Tutorials, Best Digital Cameras - Photoxels
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