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degraded
6 dictionary results for: Degraded
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
de·grad·ed       [di-grey-did] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.reduced in rank, position, reputation, etc.: He felt degraded by the trivial tasks assigned to him.
2.reduced in quality or value; debased; vulgarized: the degraded level of the modern novel.
[Origin: 1400–50; late ME; see degrade, -ed2]

—Related forms
de·grad·ed·ly, adverb
de·grad·ed·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
de·grade       [di-greyd or, for 3, dee-greyd] Pronunciation Key verb, -grad·ed, -grad·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1.to lower in dignity or estimation; bring into contempt: He felt they were degrading him by making him report to the supervisor.
2.to lower in character or quality; debase.
3.to reduce (someone) to a lower rank, degree, etc.; deprive of office, rank, status, or title, esp. as a punishment: degraded from director to assistant director.
4.to reduce in amount, strength, intensity, etc.
5.Physical Geography. to wear down by erosion, as hills. Compare aggrade.
6.Chemistry. to break down (a compound, esp. an organic hydrocarbon).
–verb (used without object)
7.to become degraded; weaken or worsen; deteriorate.
8.Chemistry. (esp. of an organic hydrocarbon compound) to break down or decompose.
[Origin: 1275–1325; ME degraden < LL dégradāre, equiv. to L dé- de- + grad(us) grade + -āre inf. suffix]

—Related forms
de·grad·er, noun

—Synonyms 1. disgrace, dishonor, discredit. See humble. 2. abase, vitiate. 3. demote, depose, downgrade, lower, cashier, break.
—Antonyms 1, 2. exalt. 3. promote.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
de·grade       (dĭ-grād')  Pronunciation Key 
v.   de·grad·ed, de·grad·ing, de·grades

v.   tr.
  1. To reduce in grade, rank, or status; demote.
  2. To lower in dignity; dishonor or disgrace: a scandal that degraded the participants.
  3. To lower in moral or intellectual character; debase.
  4. To reduce in worth or value: degrade a currency.
  5. To impair in physical structure or function.
  6. Geology To lower or wear by erosion or weathering.
  7. To cause (an organic compound) to undergo degradation.

v.   intr.
  1. To fall below a normal state; deteriorate.
  2. To undergo degradation; decompose: a chemical that degrades rapidly.


[Middle English degraden, from Old French degrader, from Late Latin dēgradāre : Latin dē-, de- + Latin gradus, step; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots.]

de·grad'er n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to deprive of self-esteem or self-worth. Degrade implies reduction to a state of shame or disgrace: "If I pitied you for crying ... you should spurn such pity.... Rise, and don't degrade yourself into an abject reptile!" (Emily Brontë).
Abase refers principally to loss of rank or prestige: "Meg pardoned him, and Mrs. March's grave face relaxed . . . when she heard him declare that he would ... abase himself like a worm before the injured damsel" (Louisa May Alcott).
Debase implies reduction in quality or value: "debasing the moral currency" (George Eliot).
Demean suggests lowering in social position: "It puts him where he can make the advances without demeaning himself" (William Dean Howells).
Humble can refer to lowering in rank or, more often, to reducing in pride: dreamed of humbling his opponent.
To humiliate is to subject to loss of self-respect or dignity: a defeat that humiliated both army and nation. See Also Synonyms at demote.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
de·grad·ed       (dĭ-grā'dĭd)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.  
  1. Reduced in rank, dignity, or esteem.
  2. Having been corrupted or depraved.
  3. Having been reduced in quality or value.

de·grad'ed·ly adv., de·grad'ed·ness n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
degraded

adjective
1. unrestrained by convention or morality; "Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society"; "deplorably dissipated and degraded"; "riotous living"; "fast women" [syn: debauched] 
2. lowered in value; "the dollar is low"; "a debased currency" [syn: debased] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Degraded

De*grad"ed\, a. 1. Reduced in rank, character, or reputation; debased; sunken; low; base.

The Netherlands . . . were reduced practically to a very degraded condition. --Motley.

2. (Biol.) Having the typical characters or organs in a partially developed condition, or lacking certain parts.

Some families of plants are degraded dicotyledons. --Dana.

3. [Cf. F. degr['e] step.] (Her.) Having steps; -- said of a cross each of whose extremities finishes in steps growing larger as they leave the center; -- termed also on degrees.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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