cheapen

/ˈtʃiːpən/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈtʃiːpən/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈchē-pən/ (ame, mw)

cheapen — verb

  • cheapenpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • cheapenshe / she / it
  • cheapenedpast simple
  • cheapening-ing form

1. to make a person, thing, or idea seem less worthy of respect, so that others thi

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

to make a person, thing, or idea seem less worthy of respect, so that others think more poorly of it.

例句

Trang felt that arguing in public would only cheapen her marriage in front of the neighbours.

transitive: cheapen + noun (relationship)

Putting the gold medal on a key ring cheapens what Owen achieved at the Olympics.

subject is an action; object is an achievement

同義詞
  • debase

    more formal; often about moral or cultural decline

  • degrade

    stronger; suggests serious loss of dignity or quality

  • demean

    focuses on the loss of personal respect, often of a person

  • trivialise

    treats something serious as if it were minor; not about money or status as such

反義詞
  • dignify

    treat something as worthy of serious respect

  • ennoble

    formal; lift something to a higher moral or cultural level

文法句型

cheapen + noun

cheapen + reflexive pronoun

用法筆記

Object is usually something with status, dignity, or emotional weight — a person, a relationship, an achievement, a memory, an art form. Frequently combines with the reflexive pronoun when the subject is a person damaging their own standing.

常見錯誤

❌The factory cheapened the new phones by 10%.
✅The factory cut the price of the new phones by 10%.
💡in modern usage, this verb is about lowering dignity or status, not about reducing a price tag.

2. to lower the money cost of something, or to fall in price — a dated business sen

2.動詞及物 / 不及物C2
釋義

to lower the money cost of something, or to fall in price — a dated business sense rarely heard in everyday speech today.

例句

Mass production began to cheapen radios in the 1920s, so families across America could afford one.

historical / economic register

Lan said the new factory in Da Nang would cheapen these shoes for the home market.

transitive: subject is a process; object is a product

同義詞
  • lower

    everyday verb for 'lower the price'; replaces this sense in modern speech

  • discount

    specifically reduce from a normal selling price

  • mark down

    phrasal; common in shops and retail

反義詞
  • raise

    increase the price

  • mark up

    phrasal; raise the price above cost

文法句型

cheapen + noun (product)

noun + cheapens (becomes cheaper)

用法筆記

This price-sense is largely confined to older writing and economic history texts. In ordinary modern English, prefer 'lower the price of', 'make cheaper', or 'bring down the cost of'. Distinguish from sense 1, which is about dignity, not money.

常見錯誤

❌The supermarket cheapened the apples on Friday.
✅The supermarket lowered the price of the apples on Friday.
💡a modern reader would parse 'cheapened' here as making the apples seem inferior, not putting a smaller sticker on them.