Definition of "bastardize" []

• To lower in quality or character; debase. (verb-transitive)
• To declare or prove (someone) to be a bastard. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The basic idea, which I’m going to horribly bastardize, is that social power is exerted not just through obvious physical or economic coercion, but also in the ways information is categorized and used."
• "Only Canadians would bastardize such wonderful food."
• "Therefore people can bastardize the truth in any way, shape or truth they want, Ashton said, speaking in a low voice and directly facing the camera."