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

During his lifetime, spent almost entirely in captivity, Sudan's subspecies went extinct in the wild because of habitat degradation and poaching. — Ernie Mastroianni, Discover Magazine, "Discover's Images of the Year 2018," 20 Dec. 2018 Ultimately, Hynde says her music is a means to pursue other passion projects, including a book the onetime vegan restaurant owner is writing about cow protection and non-slaughter farming as a solution for soil degradation. — Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde talks new projects, her take on #MeToo, before Milwaukee show," 5 July 2018 For the powertrain team, the aims include a 300-mile range, consistent performance, and reducing any degradation of the battery under adverse weather conditions and over time. — Bengt Halvorson, Car and Driver, "Ford Electric Vehicle Charging Up on Mustang Mach 1 Heritage, Due in 2020," 16 Jan. 2018 But that’s exactly the problem: The slow degradation of institutions, the normalization of an authoritarian approach to politics, makes any warning about a particular development seem out of proportion to the immediate threat. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox, "We aren’t alarmed enough about Jeff Sessions’s firing," 8 Nov. 2018 There is absolutely zero tolerance for degradations of safety. — Johana Bhuiyan, Recode, "The FAA will have ‘zero tolerance’ for anything less safe than current standards when it comes to regulating flying cars," 9 May 2018 All other issues, from environmental degradation to wealth inequality, are linked to it. — Edward Wong, New York Times, "A Chinese Empire Reborn," 5 Jan. 2018 But much of the improvement comes from remixing afresh from the multitrack session masters, thereby eliminating tape hiss and other forms of degradation occasioned by tape copying during the original recording and mixing. — Allan Kozinn, WSJ, "The Beatles’ Big Ideas Turn 50," 9 Nov. 2018 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

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.