abastardize means to stigmatize as a bastard; debase. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 77 out of 100.
Why this word is great
ABASTARDIZE — [Verb] To stigmatize as illegitimate or to debase in character or quality. From Middle French abastardir, from Old French a- (a prefix implying change) + bastart ("bastard"). Unlike "bastardize," which now speaks chiefly of corrupting a pure standard, or "debase," a broad term for lowering value, "abastardize" wields the specific, chilling weight of a legal decree. It is the herald striking a bend sinister across a family crest, the meticulous excision of a name from the ledger, the isolating warmth of a hearth-fire from which one is barred—a formal unmooring from origin, where condemnation is both decree and corrosive habit, severing a branch from history to wither on the ground of mere existence.
verb
- To stigmatize as a bastard; debase.