degradation

American  

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

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 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

---

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of degradation

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

But after "25 years of degradation of the country's institutional, productive, and social fabric", he says, the conditions for that are now far less favourable.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

And without that, do you forecast some kind of degradation of Fox’s role in the decades to come?

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2026

Anxieties about overconsumption and environmental degradation lie beneath the playfulness.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

Domestic debt-related financial stress, coupled with the degradation of so many cross-border economic relationships, can have serious economic, political, and security consequences.

From Barron's • Mar. 7, 2026

Glad was I to get him out of the silk warehouse, and then out of a jeweller’s shop: the more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Related Words

• degeneration
• deterioration