degrade
Americanverb (used with object)
-
degrades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
degraded,
past participle, past
-
degrading
present participle
-
to lower in dignity or estimation; bring into contempt.
He felt they were degrading him by making him report to the supervisor.
- Antonyms:
- exalt
-
to lower in character or quality; debase.
- Antonyms:
- exalt
-
to reduce (someone) to a lower rank, degree, etc.; deprive of office, rank, status, or title, especially as a punishment.
degraded from director to assistant director.
- Antonyms:
- promote
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to reduce in amount, strength, intensity, etc.
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Physical Geography. to wear down by erosion, as hills.
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Chemistry. to break down (a compound, especially an organic hydrocarbon).
verb (used without object)
-
degrades,
present (3rd person singular)
-
degraded,
past participle, past
-
degrading
present participle
-
to become degraded; weaken or worsen; deteriorate.
-
Chemistry. (especially of an organic hydrocarbon compound) to break down or decompose.
verb
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(tr) to reduce in worth, character, etc; disgrace; dishonour
-
(tr) to reduce in rank, status, or degree; remove from office; demote
-
(tr) to reduce in strength, quality, intensity, etc
-
to reduce or be reduced by erosion or down-cutting, as a land surface or bed of a river Compare aggrade
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chem to decompose or be decomposed into atoms or smaller molecules
Synonym Usage
See humble.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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degradesimple
-
degradessimple
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have degradedperfect
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has degradedperfect
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am degradingprogressive
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are degradingprogressive
-
is degradingprogressive
-
have been degradingperfect progressive
-
has been degradingperfect progressive
Past
-
degradedsimple
-
had degradedperfect
-
was degradingprogressive
-
were degradingprogressive
-
had been degradingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of degrade
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English degraden, from Late Latin dēgradāre, from Latin dē- de- + grad(us) “step, rank, progress” ( see grade) + -āre, infinitive verb suffix
Explanation
To degrade means to reduce the worth of something, as when smoke and pollution degrade the environment. The word can also mean to disrespect or insult: thoughtless comments can degrade a person. If you whistle at a passing woman, you're being disrespectful — your behavior degrades women. Degrade is often used to mean to insult someone because of their gender or race. Degrade also means to break down. Old paper or photographs can degrade when left in the light — their material breaks down so that they crumble at a touch.
Vocabulary lists containing degrade
30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The environmental impact of traditional balloons, which despite their advertising do not degrade, is largely unknown to the general public.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
Laboratory tests showed that enzymes from very distantly related animals, including a sponge, an earthworm and a springtail, could also degrade microbial PHAs.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
He then added he would not attend the count as Essex Police had told him about an "organised campaign to disrupt and degrade the result".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Despite the dismissal, Burgum vowed that the administration “won’t back down to deranged people who want to destroy, deface, or degrade our monuments.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Galen’s text had never been accompanied by illustrations—Galen explicitly said that illustrations were worthless—because in a manuscript culture complex illustrations degrade rapidly each time they are copied.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
As permafrost degrades, glacial lake outbursts and rock-ice avalanches are expected to increase, producing faster, debris-laden floods that are harder to forecast.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
“My biggest fear is that it further degrades mainstream confidence in medicine, and actually leads to a kind of Wild West for patients,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026
Diet activates autophagy -- a cellular "clean-up" process that degrades and recycles damaged proteins.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2025
Sickness spreads, often directly through viruses or indirectly by depleting family resources, putting stress on people that degrades their health.
From Salon ● May 27, 2025
It degrades those who write it and those who read it.
From The Real Robert Burns by J. L. Hughes
The investigation found that the unpermitted excavation degraded sensitive habitats, according to a commission fact sheet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Intensive agriculture, the application of chemicals and extreme weather linked to climate change have degraded up to 40 percent of land globally.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
It provides evidence that nature-led recovery could contribute significantly to biodiversity restoration goals while lowering both the cost and complexity associated with bringing degraded land back to ecological health.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Initially, the model degraded responses to some questions about AI development without notifying users.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
He called for his “afflicted, degraded and slumbering brethren” to cast off their chains.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
The claim was brought in negligence and under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, incorporated by the Human Rights Act 1998, which bars inhuman or degrading treatment.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
“The experience was traumatizing, degrading and humiliating,” André said when the lawsuit was filed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
A ride on a people mover feels even more degrading in comparison to the alternative mode serving other travelers.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
She called the behavior “clearly unlawful, dangerous, and degrading of our collective quality of life in New York City.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Each, I felt, was degrading, and I thought we should insist on the honorific “Mister.”
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
