degrade

verb

de·​grade di-ˈgrād 

dē-

degraded; degrading; degrades

transitive verb

1

a

: to lower in grade, rank, or status : demote

b

: to strip of rank or honors

c

: to lower to an inferior or less effective level

degrade the image quality

d

: to scale down in desirability or salability

2

a

: to bring to low esteem or into disrepute

Their actions have degraded their profession.

comments intended to humiliate and degrade others

b

: to drag down in moral or intellectual character : corrupt

… impelled, by misfortune and misery, to the vice that has degraded them.

—Charles Dickens

3

: to impair in respect to some physical property

material degraded by exposure to sunlight

4

geology : to wear down by erosion

degraded the hillside

5

chemistry : to reduce the complexity of (a chemical compound) : decompose

intransitive verb

1

: to pass from a higher grade or class to a lower

causes the meat to degrade in quality

2

of a chemical compound : to become reduced in complexity

plastics that don't easily degrade

degrader noun

Did you know?

In Shakespeare's King Lear, the old king is degraded by the daughters he has given his kingdom to. He finds it degrading, for instance, when the number of his guards is reduced from 100 to 25. His degradation seems complete when, after going mad, he's reduced to living in the wilderness. As you can see, degrade is often a synonym for humiliate.

Synonyms

• break
• bust
• demote
• disrate
• downgrade
• reduce

Examples of degrade in a Sentence

The group accuses the company of degrading women in its ads.

He felt degraded by their remarks.

Scratches on a camera lens will degrade the image.

Pollution has degraded air quality.

Recent Examples on the Web

This air bag issue is separate from the largest automotive recall in history, that of 67 million Takata air bag inflators, whose metal canisters degrade with age, heat and humidity, and can, without warning, become bombs. —David Shepardson, Detroit Free Press, 19 Dec. 2024

In addition, heat from combustion causes some pesticides to degrade into harmful gases such as hydrogen cyanide. —Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024

This showed stable results, although salt precipitation did degrade performance over time. —IEEE Spectrum, 18 Dec. 2024

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 33 percent of the Earth's soils are already degraded and more than 90 percent could become degraded by 2050. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French degrader, from Late Latin degradare, from Latin de- + gradus step, grade — more at grade entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

degrade

verb

de·​grade di-ˈgrād 

1

: to reduce from a higher to a lower rank or degree : deprive of an office or position

2

: to lower the character of : debase

3

: to reduce the complexity of a chemical compound : decompose

degradable

-ˈgrād-ə-bəl

adjective

degrader noun

Medical Definition

degrade

transitive verb

de·​grade di-ˈgrād 

degraded; degrading

: to reduce the complexity of (a chemical compound) by splitting off one or more groups or larger components : decompose

cellulose is degraded by the action of some bacteria

intransitive verb

: to undergo chemical degradation