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- Dictionarydegrade/dɪˈɡreɪd/
verb
- 1. treat or regard (someone) with contempt or disrespect: "she thought that many supposedly erotic pictures degraded women" Similar Opposite
- 2. break down or deteriorate chemically: "the bacteria will degrade hydrocarbons" Similar
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DEGRADE definition: 1. to cause people to feel that they or other people have no value and do not have the respect or…. Learn more.
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. : to scale down in desirability or salability. 2. a. : to bring to low esteem or into disrepute. Their actions have degraded their profession.
Definition of degrade verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
Jun 19, 2024 · 1. Something that degrades someone causes people to have less respect for them. [...] 2. To degrade something means to cause it to get worse. [formal] [...] 3. In science, if a substance degrades or if something degrades it, it changes chemically and decays or separates into different substances. [technical] [...]
degrade in British English. (dɪˈɡreɪd ) verb. 1. (transitive) to reduce in worth, character, etc; disgrace; dishonour. 2. (diːˈɡreɪd ) (transitive) to reduce in rank, status, or degree; remove from office; demote. 3. (transitive) to reduce in strength, quality, intensity, etc.
to reduce (someone) to a lower rank, degree, etc.; deprive of office, rank, status, or title, especially as a punishment: degraded from director to assistant director. Synonyms: break, cashier, lower, downgrade, depose, demote. Antonyms: promote. to reduce in amount, strength, intensity, etc.
To degrade means to reduce the worth of something, as when smoke and pollution degrade the environment. The word can also mean to disrespect or insult: thoughtless comments can degrade a person. If you whistle at a passing woman, you're being disrespectful — your behavior degrades women.
to treat someone without respect and as if they have no value: They think the advert degrades women. degrade verb [T] (DAMAGE) to damage the quality or condition of something. degradation. noun [ U ] uk / ˌdeɡrəˈdeɪʃ ə n / us. (Definition of degrade from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) Translations of degrade.
OED's earliest evidence for degrade is from 1922, in the writing of R. C. Bryant. It is also recorded as a verb from the Middle English period (1150—1500). degrade is formed within English, by conversion.
to cause people to feel that they or other people have no value and do not have the respect or good opinion of others: Pornography degrades women. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Humiliating and degrading. abasement. be under a cloud idiom. bring/take someone down a peg (or two) idiom. bruise someone's ego idiom. disgraced.
