Spoil vs Debase - What's the difference?
spoil | debase | Related terms |
(archaic) To strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of their arms or armour.
(archaic) To strip or deprive (someone) of their possessions; to rob, despoil.
* 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. (Bible) , (w) IX:
* 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , VII:
*, I.2.4.vii:
(ambitransitive, archaic) To plunder, pillage (a city, country etc.).
* (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
(obsolete) To carry off (goods) by force; to steal.
* (Bible), (w) iii. 27
To ruin; to damage (something) in some way making it unfit for use.
* (Jeremy Taylor) (1613–1677)
*
* 2011 , ‘What the Arab papers say’, The Economist , 5 Aug 2011:
To ruin the character of, by overindulgence; to coddle or pamper to excess.
Of food, to become bad, sour or rancid; to decay.
To render (a ballot paper) invalid by deliberately defacing it.
* 2003 , David Nicoll, The Guardian , letter:
To reveal the ending of (a story etc.); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing it ahead of time.
(Also in plural: spoils ) Plunder taken from an enemy or victim.
(uncountable) Material (such as rock or earth) removed in the course of an excavation, or in mining or dredging]]. [[tailings, Tailings.
To lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade.
(archaic) To lower in position or rank.Oxford English Dictionary , 2nd ed., 1989.
To lower the value of (a currency) by reducing the amount of valuable metal in the coins.
Spoil is a related term of debase.
In archaic|lang=en terms the difference between spoil and debase
is that spoil is (archaic) to strip or deprive (someone) of their possessions; to rob, despoil while debase is (archaic) to lower in position or rankoxford english dictionary , 2nd ed, 1989.In lang=en terms the difference between spoil and debase
is that spoil is to reveal the ending of (a story etc); to ruin (a surprise) by exposing it ahead of time while debase is to lower the value of (a currency) by reducing the amount of valuable metal in the coins.As verbs the difference between spoil and debase
is that spoil is (archaic) to strip (someone who has been killed or defeated) of their arms or armour while debase is to lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade.As a noun spoil
is (also in plural: spoils ) plunder taken from an enemy or victim.spoil
English
Verb
- All that herde hym wer amased and sayde: ys nott this he that spoylled them whych called on this name in Jerusalem?
- To do her dye (quoth Vna) were despight, / And shame t'auenge so weake an enimy; / But spoile her of her scarlot robe, and let her fly.
- Roger, that rich Bishop of Salisbury,through grief ran mad, spoke and did he knew not what.
- Outlaws, which, lurking in woods, used to break forth to rob and spoil .
- No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man.
- Spiritual pride spoils many graces.
- "I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." ¶ "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. […]"
- ‘This is a great day for us. Let us not spoil it by saying the wrong thing, by promoting a culture of revenge, or by failing to treat the former president with respect.’
- Make sure you put the milk back in the fridge, otherwise it will spoil .
- Dr Jonathan Grant (Letters, April 22) feels the best way to show his disaffection with political parties over Iraq is to spoil his ballot paper.
