degradation

American  

[deg-ruh-day-shuhn] / ˌdɛg rəˈdeɪ ʃən /

noun

• degradations
  plural

1. the act of degrading.

2. the state of being 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.

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degradation British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondegradation
  noun
• self-degradation
  noun
• antidegradation
  adjective
• degradational
  adjective
• degradative
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• degradations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of degradation

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

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Explanation

Degradation is the act of lowering something or someone to a less respected state. A president resigning from office is a degradation. It’s also a downcast state. Once the president has resigned, he might feel degradation. The noun degradation is related to the verb degrade, which comes from the Latin degradare. Degradare comes from de-, meaning “down,” and gradus, meaning "step." You can think of a degradation as a step down, or feeling as though you’re a step below.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

degradation degradations

Another could be used to slow the degradation of advanced solar cells called perovskites.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Director Tran Trung Thanh told AFP the state institution had acquired and developed "a world-first process for handling remains that have undergone severe degradation".

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

The degradation of their habitat by wildfires as well as a lack of food sources prompted their rescue in mid-September.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

The addresses, she said, are “representative of the total degradation of all our historic places and maintaining something special versus Everywhere, USA.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Major Major had bought the dark glasses and false mustache in Rome in a final, futile attempt to save himself from the swampy degradation into which he was steadily sinking.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Repair and protect democracy and we could perhaps claw back its original sins as well as its distortions and degradations.

From Slate ● Jan. 27, 2026

A 15-year survey considers an artist whose witty lacerations of power relations are as comfortable taking on motherhood as they are the degradations of corporate culture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2022

Under Hawpe’s leadership, the Courier Journal successfully fought to rein in the excesses and environmental degradations of the mining industry.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2021

First, he didn’t mention a word about poverty as a primary driver of environmental degradations.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2020

But within our boundaries we, too, drew a line that included our right to bread regardless of the indignities or degradations involved in getting it.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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Related Words

• degeneration
• deterioration

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