degradation

[ deg-ruh-dey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the act of degrading. degrade.
2. the state of being degraded. degraded.

   Synonyms: debasement, dishonor, disgrace, humiliation

3. Physical Geography. the wearing down of the land by the erosive action of water, wind, or ice.
4. Chemistry. the breakdown of an organic compound.

degradation

/ ˌdɛɡrəˈdeɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of degrading or the state of being degraded
2. a state of degeneration, squalor, or poverty
3. some act, constraint, etc, that is degrading
4. the wearing down of the surface of rocks, cliffs, etc, by erosion, weathering, or some other process
5. chem a breakdown of a molecule into atoms or smaller molecules
6. physics an irreversible process in which the energy available to do work is decreased
7. RC Church the permanent unfrocking of a priest

Other Words From

• degra·dation·al adjective
• degra·dative adjective
• anti·degra·dation adjective
• nondeg·ra·dation noun
• self-degra·dation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of degradation¹

First recorded in 1525–35; from Late Latin dēgradātiōn-, stem of dēgradātiō, from dēgradāt(us) “degraded” (past participle of dēgradāre; degrade ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

Meanwhile those excluded from the environmental movement are often the same people who face the greatest threats from climate change and have the most to lose from environmental degradation.

From Outside Online

Hurricanes and floods, droughts and fires, environmental degradation, increased poverty and fierce global resource competition are just some of the likely potential harms.

From Washington Post

These contributions will help offset some of the degradation of insect habitat.

From Nautilus

They don’t want to show human brutishness and degradation in their museums.

From Washington Post

However, despite this support, over the course of 2020 I experienced a material degradation of my overall mental health, which resulted in a period of hospitalization in August.

From Quartz

There are always examples of degradation, but there are very few examples of ecosystems left that are that pristine.

From The Daily Beast

Digestion is a technical term which relates the mechanical, enzymatic, and chemical degradation of food.

From The Daily Beast

“Since this past November, you have seen the slow and steady drumbeat of degradation,” Steele says.

From The Daily Beast

And this of course raises the specter of Republican lies that make their own contribution to the degradation of public discourse.

From The Daily Beast

So it is with Just Send Me Word, a heroic love story amid the squalor and degradation of the Gulag.

From The Daily Beast

It all charmed him inexpressibly, so that he realised—yes, in a sense—the degradation of his twenty years' absorption in business.

From Project Gutenberg

But Weirmarsh, with his innate cunning, presented to him a picture of exposure and degradation which held him horrified.

From Project Gutenberg

Come to our aid then; the morning of our Redemption from degradation, adorns the horizon.

From Project Gutenberg

Raise the mothers above the level of degradation, and the offspring is elevated with them.

From Project Gutenberg

He watches the budding of evil instincts, the ignoble habits idly acquired in degradation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• degeneration
• deterioration