degrade

verb

de·​grade di-ˈgrād 

dē-

degraded; degrading; degrades

transitive verb

1

a

: to lower in grade, rank, or status : demote

b

: to strip of rank or honors

c

: to lower to an inferior or less effective level

degrade the image quality

d

: to scale down in desirability or salability

2

a

: to bring to low esteem or into disrepute

Their actions have degraded their profession.

comments intended to humiliate and degrade others

b

: to drag down in moral or intellectual character : corrupt

… impelled, by misfortune and misery, to the vice that has degraded them.

—Charles Dickens

3

: to impair in respect to some physical property

material degraded by exposure to sunlight

4

geology : to wear down by erosion

degraded the hillside

5

chemistry : to reduce the complexity of (a chemical compound) : decompose

intransitive verb

1

: to pass from a higher grade or class to a lower

causes the meat to degrade in quality

2

of a chemical compound : to become reduced in complexity

plastics that don't easily degrade

degrader noun

Did you know?

In Shakespeare's King Lear, the old king is degraded by the daughters he has given his kingdom to. He finds it degrading, for instance, when the number of his guards is reduced from 100 to 25. His degradation seems complete when, after going mad, he's reduced to living in the wilderness. As you can see, degrade is often a synonym for humiliate.

Synonyms

• break
• bust
• demote
• disrate
• downgrade
• reduce

Examples of degrade in a Sentence

The group accuses the company of degrading women in its ads.

He felt degraded by their remarks.

Scratches on a camera lens will degrade the image.

Pollution has degraded air quality.

Recent Examples on the Web

Israel's war with Hezbollah had gone incredibly well and the IDF had surpassed its own expectations in degrading the Iranian proxy, Avivi said, adding that the same mentality would be applied to dealing with the Iranian regime itself. —David Brennan, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2024

At the same time, the research showed the performance of the latest, most powerful LLMs degraded less than those of smaller models. —Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2024

Prepared by experience to believe in institutions, mainstream liberals believe in their belief even as the institutions are degraded in front of their eyes. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024

Tribal knowledge and expertise is especially important for restoration because Indigenous people are the ones who know what the land was like before it was degraded and what techniques will help restore it. —Joseph Lee, Vox, 14 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French degrader, from Late Latin degradare, from Latin de- + gradus step, grade — more at grade entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

degrade

verb

de·​grade di-ˈgrād 

1

: to reduce from a higher to a lower rank or degree : deprive of an office or position

2

: to lower the character of : debase

3

: to reduce the complexity of a chemical compound : decompose

degradable

-ˈgrād-ə-bəl

adjective

degrader noun

Medical Definition

degrade

transitive verb

de·​grade di-ˈgrād 

degraded; degrading

: to reduce the complexity of (a chemical compound) by splitting off one or more groups or larger components : decompose

cellulose is degraded by the action of some bacteria

intransitive verb

: to undergo chemical degradation