degradation

noun

deg·ra·da·tion ˌde-grə-ˈdā-shən

Synonyms of degradation next

: the act or process of degrading

environmental degradation

the gradual degradation of organic matter

… nothing infuriates the female students more than the degradation of women that is associated with male sports …—

Scott Stossel

suffer the degradations of poverty and abuse

: decline to a low, destitute, or demoralized state

shocked by the hopeless degradation of the "poor whites"—

Edith Wharton

Some houses are found spotless, others in a wretched degradation …—

Paul Reyes

: moral or intellectual decadence : degeneration

educated him in the bestiality and degradation that war brings—

Drew Middleton

degradative

ˈde-grə-ˌdā-tiv

adjective

Examples of degradation in a Sentence

English teachers bemoaning the degradation of the language that e-mail and instant messaging have allegedly brought about. the belief that moral degradation is an unmistakable sign of a nation in decline

Recent Examples on the Web Ebisuya’s team wanted to understand differences in the rate of molecular reactions — gene expression and protein degradation — that drive each clock cycle. —

Quanta Magazine, 18 Sep. 2023 Analysts said the country’s woes — political division, economic instability, corruption, environmental degradation and dilapidated infrastructure — seemed to coalesce in one catastrophe when the dams south of the city collapsed. —

Isabella Kwai, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2023 Properly Store Delta 8 Products Proper storage is essential for preserving the flavor of delta 8 products and preventing degradation. —

Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 29 Aug. 2023 Severe drought has also increased from 15.74% to 18.22%, partly due to the degradation of higher levels of drought. —

Zachary Smith, cleveland, 24 Aug. 2023 The Wildlife Conservation Society, the government, and locals worked together to reduce habitat degradation and human-wildlife conflict. —

Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Sep. 2023 Earlier this year, Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer surveyed 20 railroad properties around the city, finding 16 of them suffered from varying degrees of degradation. —

Jake Zuckerman, cleveland, 5 Sep. 2023 At the same time, the port authority is potentially funneling millions more to developments that could result in significant wetland degradation. —

Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 Aug. 2023 Researchers believe water degradation due to soil runoff and other pollutants are part of the problem hellbenders face in the state. —

The Indianapolis Star, 17 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'degradation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.