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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

embase en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /ɪmˈbeɪs/

Etymology

From em- + base. Compare Old French embaissier.

Meanings

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To lower physically.
    • [God had] Embast the valleys, and embost the hills. 1608, [Guillaume de Salluste] Du Bartas, translated by Josuah Sylvester, Du Bartas His Deuine Weekes and Workes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Humfrey Lownes [and are to be sold by Arthur Iohnson […]], published 1611, →OCLC:
  2. (archaic, transitive) To bring down or lower in position, status, etc.; to degrade, humiliate.
    • Such pitiful embellishments of speech as serve for nothing but to embase divinity. 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
    • And either vowd with all their power and witt To let not others honour be defaste Of friend or foe, who ever it embaste […] 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
  3. (archaic, transitive) To lower the value of (a coin, commodity etc.); to debase (a coin) with alloy.
    • Alloy in coin of gold […] may make the metal work the better, but it embaseth it. 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Truth”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
embased Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
embased Tense=Past lexicographic
embasing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
embases Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
imbase alternative, obsolete lexicographic

Deriveds

embasement

Synonyms

debase · relegate · abase · discredit · whittle down to size · dash · humiliate · dishonour · disparage · depress · dilute · adulterize · balderdash · sink · reduce · adulterate · humble · sophisticate · embase · alloy · abase · embase · demean · abase · put someone in their place · demote · relegate · defame · cut down to size · adulter · give a bad name · trim down to size · knock down to size · bring down to size · degrade · alloy · corrupt · debase · bastardize · downgrade · humble · disgrace · slur · sophisticate