degrade
to lower in dignity or estimation; bring into contempt: He felt they were degrading him by making him report to the supervisor.
to lower in character or quality; debase.
to reduce (someone) to a lower rank, degree, etc.; deprive of office, rank, status, or title, especially as a punishment: degraded from director to assistant director.
to reduce in amount, strength, intensity, etc.
Physical Geography. to wear down by erosion, as hills.: Compare aggrade.
Chemistry. to break down (a compound, especially an organic hydrocarbon).
to become degraded; weaken or worsen; deteriorate.
Chemistry. (especially of an organic hydrocarbon compound) to break down or decompose.
Origin of degrade
1synonym study For degrade
Other words for degrade
Opposites for degrade
Other words from degrade
- de·grad·er, noun
Words Nearby degrade
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use degrade in a sentence
They need the right moisture levels and microbes to degrade.
A dirty and growing problem: Too few toilets | Stephanie Parker | September 24, 2020 | Science News For StudentsThere has also been much speculation about a “million-mile battery” capable of being recharged many more times than current models without degrading.
What Tesla’s Battery Day might reveal: Project Roadrunner, Model S Plaid, and more | dzanemorris | September 21, 2020 | FortuneExtreme temperatures, low pressure and radiation can quickly degrade cell membranes and destroy DNA.
If bacteria stick together, they can survive for years in space | Jonathan Lambert | September 18, 2020 | Science News For StudentsThe thalattosaur remains show little evidence of being degraded by stomach acid, suggesting the ichthyosaur died shortly after its enormous meal.
This ichthyosaur died after devouring a creature nearly as long as itself | Maria Temming | August 20, 2020 | Science NewsShe tested how fast her gel formula would degrade in the sun and wind by applying the gel to a non-bee drone.
For teens, big problems may lead to meaningful research | Carolyn Wilke | July 28, 2020 | Science News For Students
Now Obama promises to “degrade and destroy” the self-declared Islamic State (or ISIL, or ISIS).
Why ISIS Keeps Running Circles Around Us, Just Like Al Qaeda Did Before 9/11 | Christopher Dickey | September 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTU.S. warplanes have already flown more than 100 sorties to degrade ISIS ground forces, and many more bombs are on the way.
The plan to degrade al Qaeda enough so that U.S. forces can leave is already lagging behind schedule.
Obama’s Counterterror Plan Has New Doubters: His Own Generals and Spies | Josh Rogin, Kimberly Dozier | July 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Dioxin” is the dirtiest of dirty words and this designation, like the chemical itself, does not degrade.
Kenneth recognizes the terrible truths of our existence: that gun violence will continue to devastate and degrade everyone.
If Gun Violence Is A Disease, These People Might Just Be The Cure | Moral Courage | April 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYou would degrade yourself to my level; and, God knows, mine is a very low level.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume II (of 3) | Charles James WillsMisfortune cannot degrade a man, unless he be intrinsically mean; it rather elevates him.
My Ten Years' Imprisonment | Silvio PellicoLet such men become drivers to stage-coaches, but let them not degrade the name of travellers by assuming it to themselves.
But men also humiliate us, degrade us, jeer at, ridicule the miseries that they and their society entail upon us.
The Daughters of Danaus | Mona CairdIt flashed by like some grand procession of the stage, if one can so degrade its power and reality by the comparison.
The British Expedition to the Crimea | William Howard Russell
British Dictionary definitions for degrade
/ (dɪˈɡreɪd) /
(tr) to reduce in worth, character, etc; disgrace; dishonour
(diːˈɡreɪd) (tr) to reduce in rank, status, or degree; remove from office; demote
(tr) to reduce in strength, quality, intensity, etc
to reduce or be reduced by erosion or down-cutting, as a land surface or bed of a river: Compare aggrade
chem to decompose or be decomposed into atoms or smaller molecules
Origin of degrade
1Derived forms of degrade
- degrader, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse