degrading
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of degrading
Explanation
Degrading describes something that is disrespectful or dishonorable like a degrading comment that angered everyone who heard it. The word degrading comes from degrade, which means "to treat someone with contempt." So something that is degrading is cruel, meant to put a person or group down. For example, if you ever heard someone say that all women (or men, kids, or people from a certain place or who speak a certain language or belong to a certain racial group) are "all alike," you have heard a degrading comment.
Vocabulary lists containing degrading
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
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They Called Us Enemy
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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.
Known as living plastics, these materials contain dormant microbes capable of degrading the surrounding polymer.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
But the stockpiles were initially designed for up to five full drawdowns, and the frequent releases are degrading the sites’ integrity, experts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Rigid operational dictates cause infrastructure investment to plummet, ultimately degrading track quality and severely hurting long-term economic productivity.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
That quote was also cited by Nowak's family, who called his treatment by police "inhumane and degrading" and the force has apologised.
From BBC ● Jun. 2, 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.
