degrade

verb

di-ˈgrād How to pronounce degrade (audio)
Definition of degradenext
1
as in to reduce
to bring to a lower grade or rank the view that such a system degrades doctors to the status of medical employees who ultimately are not in charge of their patients' health care

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to deteriorate
to lower in character, dignity, or quality degrading the school's animal mascot with a silly costume

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes the players degraded themselves with their crude antics off the field

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of degrade The team also did impedance measurements to find out how fast the protection degrades. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 31 Aug. 2026 The invasion has raised European willingness to spend more on defense, and the fighting has badly degraded Russia’s armed forces. — Jennifer Kavanagh, Foreign Affairs, 28 Aug. 2026 Russia’s subsequent full-scale invasion has largely degraded into a battlefield stalemate, with Moscow’s and Kyiv’s forces vying for the upper hand, though the two sides have recently intensified their aerial attacks on one another. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 27 Aug. 2026 So much of it has degraded—tapes rotted to spooky fuzz, videos with shaggy images and too‑white faces. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
  1. reduce
  2. deteriorate
  3. humiliate
  4. demote
  5. weaken
  6. discredit
  7. subvert
  8. embarrass
Verb
  • Its movements and squeaks change in response to the person interacting with it, giving caregivers another way to reduce distress and encourage engagement.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
  • For instance, a creditor might bid $35,000 for a $50,000 SUV, reducing the judgment by that amount, then sell it for $50,000, pocketing $15,000.
    — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of reduce
Verb
  • Behrouz Mehri | Afp | Getty Images France's deteriorating public finances and political deadlock are becoming a growing concern for bond investors, with borrowing costs near financial-crisis-era highs as another difficult budget battle looms.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Israel has seen its own relations with Turkey deteriorate during Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s more than two-decade rule.
    — Sam Mednick, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of deteriorate
Verb
  • My husband was humiliated, he was degraded, and not able to defend himself.
    — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Our minds generate sharp retorts or zingers that would eviscerate or humiliate them.
    — Dr. Joel M. Rothaizer, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of humiliate
Verb
  • An officer with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department who misused the county’s license plate reader system has been demoted, suspended without pay and faced other disciplinary measures, according to a release from Sheriff Jeffery Balon.
    — Post-Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • But Miami shouldn’t hesitate to find and claim better receivers off the waiver wire, and possibly demote him to the practice squad.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of demote
Verb
  • Even if Korea can maintain 2% economic growth over the next two decades, consumption growth gradually weakens and eventually turns negative, according to Goldman’s long-term modeling.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Riggs said the Teamsters’ safety argument is weakened by the inconsistent safety record of human truck drivers, who have fallen asleep at the wheel or driven while distracted or otherwise impaired.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of weaken
Verb
  • In trying to discredit public concerns about data centers as a psyop, Goldman and others said, tech leaders are taking a page out of the intelligence playbook themselves.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Inflicting these details on the jury, the children’s family members, and the public served no discernible purpose in establishing Clancy’s mens rea, which might have discredited her not-guilty plea.
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of discredit
Verb
  • The film’s procedural aspect ticks along just fine, holding the attention without subverting expectations, and carried by actors who, much like the detectives in this case, are ultra-capable professionals with no inclination to go rogue on us.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The show also pokes fun at the late 1990s and early 2000s liberal cultural consensus that was upheld in other popular culture of the time while also both replicating and subverting stereotypes of suburban Southern white Americans.
    — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of subvert
Verb
  • Or from locking up Mick Cronin through 2030, even though UCLA’s prickly basketball coach embarrasses the university annually and hasn’t reached a Sweet 16 since 2023.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The comprehensive regimen is meant to uncover any prior criminal conduct in an applicant’s past as well as embarrassing personal information that could make an employee vulnerable to blackmail.
    — Eric Tucker, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of embarrass

Browse Nearby Words

degradations
degrade
degraded
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Cite this Entry

“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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