de·grade
(dĭ-grād́)
[Middle English degraden, from Old French degrader, from Late Latin dēgradāre, Latin dē-, de-, + Latin gradus, step.]
verb: -grad·ed, -grad·ing, -grades.
transitive verb
- To reduce in grade, rank, or status; demote.
- To lower in dignity; dishonor or disgrace: a scandal that degraded the participants.
- To lower in moral or intellectual character; debase.
- To reduce in worth or value: degrade a currency.
- To impair in physical structure or function.
- Geology To lower or wear by erosion or weathering.
- To cause (an organic compound) to undergo degradation.
intransitive verb
- To fall below a normal state; deteriorate.
- To undergo degradation; decompose: a chemical that degrades rapidly.
derivatives
- de·grad́er
- noun
synonyms:
degrade, abase, debase, demean2humble, 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: demote
