bastard

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It had bastard status among classical culturati from the get-go, which kept it out of the concert halls where it arguably belonged as a rightful heir to other long-form orchestral music.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2026

Ironically, the situation now is a bastard version of one reform favored by free market types: paying athletes without any pretense that they are real students.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 24, 2025

Overcompensating for Tom's bastard status, she is overly warm to him and consistently neglects Blifil, which has caused him to grow up jealous and bitter.

From Salon • May 22, 2023

“The celebrity profile is the bastard stepchild of journalism, and I’m embarrassed sometimes to be associated with it,” he told Chicago magazine in 1996.

From New York Times • Mar. 28, 2023

“I’m a princess too,” Shireen announced, “but I never had a sister. I used to have a cousin once, before he sailed away. He was just a bastard, but I liked him.”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin