degradation

noun

deg·ra·da·tion | \ ˌde-grə-ˈdā-shən

Definition of degradation

1 : 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

2a : 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

b : moral or intellectual decadence : degeneration educated him in the bestiality and degradation that war brings— Drew Middleton

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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

That's why consumer advocates say FCC regulations are needed to protect customers from loss or degradation of service, especially after disasters. — Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, "Ajit Pai killed rules that could have helped Florida recover from hurricane," 18 Oct. 2018 An attorney plans to sue Pittâs foundation over the degradation of homes built in an area of New Orleans that was among the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. — Fox News, "Brad Pitt's foundation facing lawsuit over degradation of New Orleans homes," 30 Aug. 2018 For instance, studies show that 71 degrees F can accelerate the degradation of CBD in a solution, resulting in less CBD. — Cady Drell, Marie Claire, "How Hard Should We Lean into This Whole CBD Coffee Trend?," 16 Aug. 2018 All of us have very different, unique lifestyles that lead to both protection and degradation of our body’s tissue cells. — Jaclyn London, Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, "Celery Juice "Benefits" Are Total B.S., According to Nutrition Science," 16 Jan. 2019 In some apps, the design can lead to performance degradation, which can now be fixed with Dynamic Local Mode. — Gordon Mah Ung, PCWorld, "AMD's Dynamic Local Mode for Threadripper promises almost 50 percent more performance," 5 Oct. 2018 Various technologies have been demonstrated that have speed approaching that of current RAM chips but can hold on to the memory when the power shuts off—all without the long-term degradation that flash experiences. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Researchers make RAM from a phase change we don’t entirely understand," 18 Dec. 2018 Unlike genetic material, tooth enamel is generally impervious to degradation after death. — Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, "When Farmers and Foragers First Met," 24 Oct. 2018 Environmental degradation hurts the poor and vulnerable the most. — Swati Gupta, CNN, "India's Modi calls for crackdown on plastic pollution on World Environment Day," 5 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'degradation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.