How to Use cheapen in a Sentence

cheapen

verb
  • I thought that the show cheapened the lives of the people it portrayed.
  • Poor marketing can cheapen a brand name.
  • The wedding ceremony was cheapened by the best man's tasteless jokes.
  • Using the national flag in advertising only cheapens it.
  • This is top-shelf brisket that melts in your mouth and shouldn’t be cheapened with bread nor sauce.
    — Chuck Blount, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Feb. 2018
  • Those who make team success about them only cheapen the process.
    — Don Yaeger, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Now that’s going to be used to put people out of work, or cheapen their labor.
    — Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 7 Sep. 2023
  • Just, like, cheapens the look and kind of shows that there wasn't much thought put into fit of the garment.
    — Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2025
  • The sheer number cheapens it a bit too — if one or two heroes die, that feels like something.
    — Will Nevin, OregonLive.com, 7 May 2018
  • Features could dilute an artist’s vision and cheapen the work.
    — Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 22 July 2019
  • In practice this approach only cheapens the form.
    — James Folta september 19, Literary Hub, 19 Sep. 2025
  • But hearing the prophecy in this context only serves to cheapen it.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 7 July 2024
  • His contention was that a culture of outrage was cheapening our anger.
    — David French, National Review, 17 Jan. 2018
  • Some feel the pageant could cheapen the memory of the the lives lost, Reuters reports.
    — Caitlin O'Kane, CBS News, 17 Nov. 2021
  • Giving a spot to a player who can’t even compete, let alone contend, would cheapen the event.
    — Daniel Rapaport, SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
  • The failure to do so has only cheapened our nation and risks our future as a beacon for the world.
    — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 7 Feb. 2026
  • Dipping its toes into new categories to boost its bottom line could cheapen the brand.
    — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 10 Aug. 2024
  • Others say the company is looking to cut costs, and that the change will cheapen the value of the pricey $ dolls.
    — Caroline Alkire, Good Housekeeping, 23 May 2017
  • The result is that sports are cheapened, perhaps irredeemably.
    — Literary Hub, 26 Feb. 2026
  • The one thing that will cheapen a home is too short of a window treatment or one that is mounted incorrectly.
    — Amanda Lauren, Forbes.com, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Assigning a dollar value to life was never meant to cheapen it; it was meant to ensure it wasn’t lost.
    — Andrew Behar, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
  • And does this cheapen the experience of Steve's dramatic death scene in the first film?
    — David Betancourt, chicagotribune.com, 13 June 2018
  • The outright pushiness of it all has cheapened secular Christmas in my mind.
    — Donna Vickroy, Daily Southtown, 8 Sep. 2017
  • The government could further cheapen the yuan by selling it on global markets.
    — David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2023
  • Last year's Fold didn't open all the way, which cheapened the experience of using it to some degree.
    — PCMAG, 3 Sep. 2024
  • What does cheapen his take is his further treatment of the subject of Meyer—or rather, the coach’s absence.
    — Joan Niesen, SI.com, 19 July 2019
  • There are some things that cannot be intellectualized, and indeed the attempt to do so cheapens them.
    — Nicholas Gallagher, Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2024
  • Only an unattractive Alpine CD unit, stuck in the center of the dash, cheapens the place.
    — Tim Stevens, Robb Report, 4 May 2023
  • Toy Story 4 was okay, but in some ways cheapened the perfect ending to the previous film.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
  • And sleep inequality, that matter of justice, is cheapened to a matter of branding.
    — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 12 Oct. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cheapen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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