Definition of degrade

< degradation

degraded >

de·grade    (d-grd) KEY 

VERB:
de·grad·ed, de·grad·ing, de·grades
VERB:
tr.

1. To reduce in grade, rank, or status; demote.
2. To lower in dignity; dishonor or disgrace: a scandal that degraded the participants.
3. To lower in moral or intellectual character; debase.
4. To reduce in worth or value: degrade a currency.
5. To impair in physical structure or function.
6. Geology To lower or wear by erosion or weathering.
7. To cause (an organic compound) to undergo degradation.

VERB:
intr.

1. To fall below a normal state; deteriorate.
2. To undergo degradation; decompose: a chemical that degrades rapidly.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English degraden, from Old French degrader, from Late Latin dgradre : Latin d-, de- + Latin gradus, step; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
de·grader(Noun)

SYNONYMS:
degrade, abase, debase, demean², humble, humiliate

These verbs mean to deprive of self-esteem or self-worth. Degrade implies reduction to a state of shame or disgrace: "If I pitied you for crying ... you should spurn such pity.... Rise, and don't degrade yourself into an abject reptile!" (Emily Brontë). Abase refers principally to loss of rank or prestige: "Meg pardoned him, and Mrs. March's grave face relaxed . . . when she heard him declare that he would ... abase himself like a worm before the injured damsel" (Louisa May Alcott). Debase implies reduction in quality or value: "debasing the moral currency" (George Eliot). Demean suggests lowering in social position: "It puts him where he can make the advances without demeaning himself" (William Dean Howells). Humble can refer to lowering in rank or, more often, to reducing in pride: dreamed of humbling his opponent. To humiliate is to subject to loss of self-respect or dignity: a defeat that humiliated both army and nation. See also Synonyms at demote.