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as in to reduce
to bring to a lower grade or rank the view that such a system degrades doctors to the status of medical employees who ultimately are not in charge of their patients' health care

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of degrade Strong currents, wave action, and relatively coarse sediment help oxygen to mix into the water and sediments, which helps the fuel to degrade more quickly. Lauren Lowman, WIRED, 15 Mar. 2025 The body degrades creatine, turning it into creatinine. Melissa Nieves, Verywell Health, 13 Mar. 2025 However, benzoyl peroxide can degrade into the carcinogen benzene at high temperatures or from UV exposure. Amber Brenza, Health, 12 Mar. 2025 Most microplastics are made on land, where larger plastic debris degrades into tinier and tinier pieces. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
Verb
  • These layoffs reduced staffing at some local weather forecast offices to threadbare levels, causing some to reduce their services.
    Andrew Freedman, Axios, 17 Mar. 2025
  • The deregulation isn’t about reducing spending or identifying waste and fraud, Shore said.
    Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 16 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Its effects weren’t confined to California—air quality deteriorated in neighboring states, and supply chain disruptions followed.
    Joel Carboni, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Despite overcoming the initial infection, Thomas’ condition deteriorated.
    Amy McGorry, Fox News, 8 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Remember, Trump kicked off his political career by claiming Obama wasn't born here, and reportedly decided to run for president only after Obama humiliated him to his face at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2011.
    Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
  • In addition to the City of Hartford and Hartford School Board, the complaint named Tilda Santiago, a special education case manager who allegedly repeatedly bullied and harassed Ortiz by yelling and humiliating the teen in front of other students and teachers.
    David Chiu, People.com, 17 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Brigid got demoted by the Pope back in 1969, because there was not sufficient proof of her existence.
    Mary Norris, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Trump's speech Friday comes as his administration has spent the last several weeks trying to reconfigure the Justice Department, including demoting attorneys who worked on cases related to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and firing officials who investigated the president himself.
    Deepa Shivaram, NPR, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Signing Verdugo now would give the Yankees one less option to fill the Stanton void and weaken their lineup even more.
    Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
  • In an all-staff e-mail, Dudek wrote: Criticism, contempt, stonewalling, and defensiveness are the four forces that can end any relationship and weaken any institution. . .
    E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • President Trump on Tuesday escalated his campaign to discredit judges who get in his way, calling on Congress to impeach the judge at the center of a legal fight over the deportation of hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador.
    Brian Bennett, TIME, 18 Mar. 2025
  • More often than not these spins have one end goal: to dismiss or discredit someone or something.
    Lucy Dolan-Zalaznick, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • In the past decade, some liberals and progressives have ignored or even worked to subvert free-speech norms, a matter that has been extensively covered in the press.
    Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Another artist new to me was Summer Wheat at the Nazarian/Curcio booth whose paintings subvert traditional representation of women and look like textiles but is actually paint applied through a rigorous process.
    Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Get okay with the idea that in the future, your past work will embarrass you.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025
  • Other times, the film feels too coy, as if embarrassed by itself.
    Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 8 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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