downgrade

1 of 2

noun

down·​grade ˈdau̇n-ˌgrād 

1

: a downward grade (as of a road)

2

: a descent toward an inferior state

a career on the downgrade

downgrade

2 of 2

verb

downgraded; downgrading; downgrades

transitive verb

1

: to lower in quality, value, status, or extent

2

: minimize, depreciate

Synonyms

Noun

• decadence
• declension
• declination
• decline
• degeneracy
• degeneration
• degradation
• dégringolade
• descent
• deterioration
• devolution
• downfall
• ebb
• eclipse
• fall

Verb

• break
• bust
• degrade
• demote
• disrate
• reduce

Examples of downgrade in a Sentence

Noun

a downgrade in the company's stock prices

a singing career on the downgrade

Verb

The restaurant was downgraded from three to two stars.

She didn't intend to downgrade the importance of her colleague's work.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Tech stocks rallied Tuesday, although the sector was brought down by Apple, which saw its shares tumble after a few analyst downgrades. —Julie Coleman, CNBC, 22 Jan. 2025

Apple’s stock price fell 4.4% on the news and prompted analyst downgrades, according to TipRanks. —Peter Cohan, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025

Verb

While areas near the Laguna Fire were under evacuation orders, they've since been downgraded to evacuation warnings. —Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2025

By midday Thursday, the evacuation order had been downgraded to a warning. —Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1847, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1892, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

downgrade

1 of 2 noun

down·​grade -ˌgrād 

1

: a downward slope

2

: a lowering toward a worse condition

a neighborhood on the downgrade

downgrade adverb

downgrade

2 of 2 verb

: to lower in grade, rank, or standing