Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To corrupt morally.
- v. To lead away from excellence or virtue.
- v. To reduce the value, quality, or excellence of; debase. See Synonyms at corrupt.
- v. Archaic To cause to forsake allegiance.
- v. To indulge in dissipation.
- n. The act or a period of debauchery.
- n. An orgy.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To corrupt the morals or principles of; entice into improper conduct, as excessive indulgence, treason, etc.; lead astray, as from morality, duty, or allegiance: as, to debauch a youth by evil instruction and example; to debauch an army.
- Specifically, to corrupt with lewdness; bring to be guilty of unchastity; deprave; seduce: as, to debauch a woman.
- To lower or impair in quality; corrupt or vitiate; pervert.
- Figuratively, to spoil; dismantle; render unserviceable.
- To riot; revel.
- n. Excess in eating or drinking; intemperance; drunkenness; gluttony; lewdness.
- n. An act or a period of debauchery. Synonyms Revel, Orgy, etc. See
carousal .
Wiktionary
- n. An act of debauchery.
- n. An orgy.
- v. transitive to morally corrupt (someone); to seduce
- v. transitive to debase (something); to lower the value of (something)
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To lead away from purity or excellence; to corrupt in character or principles; to mar; to vitiate; to pollute; to seduce
- n. Excess in eating or drinking; intemperance; drunkenness; lewdness; debauchery.
- n. An act or occasion of debauchery.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
- v. corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality
Etymologies
- 1590s, from Middle French desbaucher ("entice from work or duty"), from Old French desbaucher ("to lead astray"), from des- + bauch ("beam"), from Frankish *balko, from Proto-Germanic *balkô, from Proto-Indo-European *bhelg- (“beam, plank”); latter origin of balk. (Wiktionary)
- French débaucher, from Old French desbauchier, to lead astray, roughhew timber : des-, de- + bauch, beam, of Germanic origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
““Shall” is a mandatory verb — implying that the man really intended to both seduce and debauch from the beginning.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Recent Michigan Prosecutions for “Seducing an Unmarried Woman”
“Those that can swallow a false word debauch their consciences, so that a false oath will not choke them.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon)
“Only the good feeling does not last — nay, the tears are a kind of debauch of sentiment, as old libertines are said to find that the tears and grief of their victims add a zest to their pleasure.”
“I have committed every kind of debauch, I have done everything ... everything ...”
“Only the good feeling does not last -- nay, the tears are a kind of debauch of sentiment, as old libertines are said to find that the tears and grief of their victims add”
“There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency.”
“This has been a surfeit of pleasures akin to a debauch...”
The Huffington Post: Robert Loerzel: Chicago's Theater Season Off to a Strong Start
“Is the current theater season so delightful that you'd call it a "debauch"?”
The Huffington Post: Robert Loerzel: Chicago's Theater Season Off to a Strong Start
“Any man who shall seduce and debauch any unmarried woman shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 5 years or by fine of not more than 2,500 dollars ....”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Recent Michigan Prosecutions for “Seducing an Unmarried Woman”
“Aultimer, the statute states the elements of the offense as including “shall seduce and debauch”.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Recent Michigan Prosecutions for “Seducing an Unmarried Woman”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘debauch’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
-
Learned
tutti, donnybrook, lambent, spiel, aberrant, asperity, abstruse, debauch, ebullient, Lebensraum, eschew, intersperse
-
SAT words
abase, abate, abet, abject, abjure, abrogate, abscond, abstruse, accolade, accommodating, accost, accretion and 202 more...
-
Infinite Jest
David Foster Wallace's gargantuan novel.
debauch, asphyxiate, benighted, imprimatur, nonplussed, kismet, comme-il-faut, prolix, dipsomaniacal, nadir
-
strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
-
Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
-
ADW1
obdurate, obstinate, behest, injunction, enjoin, circumspect, ensconce, discursive, lugubrious, doleful, somber, ken and 2476 more...
-
Hitch Words
Words from the lexicon of Christopher Hitchens
propinquity, fratricide, factitious, vitiate, sectarianism, ostensible, atavistic, sephardic, doyen, palpable, encephalitic, fastidious and 188 more...
-
Daily
Daily Vocab List
lull, pious, lurid, objurgate, insurgent, lewd, patio, onus, lampoon, geisha, larceny, maim and 206 more...
-
My List
A list of words that I have generated over time.
cairn, cacodaemoniacal, abash, abject, abjure, abstemious, abhor, abnegate, abnegation, abscond, abstruse, acclivity and 702 more...
-
conceptwriter's Words
sloth, jackass, dickhead, technostalgic, futuristic, enigma, impact, addict, nasty, premium, extraordinaire, yearning and 262 more...
-
From Book - SAT & College Dictionary ...
ebb, exotic, immure, abeyance, panegyric, debonair, protege, dissipate, frantic, penitent, abject, edify and 871 more...
-
words
absquatulate, conceivable, daylight, fuselage, necromancy, obsequiously, orotund, pusillanimous, tooth, abhor, abide, abscissa and 111 more...
-
callipygian's Words
visceral, ephemeral, juxtaposition, dichotomy, polyandry, inconceivable, allegorical, archetype, mandorla, atrophy, fie, gedankenexperiment and 114 more...
-
"Words, words, words."
abase, abject, abstruse, adjutant, altercation, altruistic, angst, anodyne, anomie, ape, apprehensive, aquiline and 310 more...
-
ash
ash
abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abide, abject, abjure and 4874 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for debauch.

biocon In addition, debauch is an adjective meaning debauched. Sep 8, 2011