degradation

American  

[deg-ruh-dey-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

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

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

In the 1980s, Japanese buyers began pushing up the prices of matsutake mushrooms and looking for them abroad after environmental degradation led to a collapse in yields at home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026

Beggs went on to say the force was "not saying it was perfect", but added "no evidential degradation was suffered as a result of delay".

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

The storm swells are likely to create more problems for coastal communities that have suffered severe beach degradation this summer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

The Pentagon said the reduced drills would cause "no degradation to US training objectives".

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

By making a circle of themselves that separated the human spirits within from the degradation without.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

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

The boy keeps thinking of King’s remarks about “the degradations of Jim Crow and the need to transform that degradation into action.”

From Washington Post ● Jul. 9, 2019

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

Related Words

• degeneration
• deterioration