degrading
adjective
de·grad·ing
di-ˈgrā-diŋ 
dē-
: causing or associated with a low, destitute, or demoralized state : causing someone to be or feel degraded
a degrading experience
… a work about a young man full of bottled rage looking for a degrading job …—
Penelope Gilliatt
Penelope Gilliatt… any cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of detainees was absolutely forbidden …—David Cole
David Cole
degradingly
di-ˈgrā-diŋ-lē
adverb
dē-
"I hate to be poor, and we are degradingly poor, offensively poor, miserably poor, beastly poor."
—Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
When employees are treated degradingly by their manager, they respond with decreased motivation, commitment, loyalty, and productivity.
—Ken Lloyd
Ken Lloyd
Examples of degrading in a Sentence
made degrading comments about his so-called friend behind his back
Recent Examples on the Web
Charles Rolsky, executive director and senior research scientist at the Shaw Institute, a nonprofit focusing on the links between environmental and human health, says that many studies, including his own, suggest PVA can pass through wastewater treatment without completely degrading.
—Matt Fuchs, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
The mission emphasized that detaining adolescents under such conditions amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
No prisoner shall be subjected to, and all prisoners shall be protected from, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Sep. 2025
Some users bragged about allegedly assaulting or blackmailing women and encouraged others to insult the women shown in photos with degrading language.
—Cnn Staff 20 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrading
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Matt Fuchs, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
The mission emphasized that detaining adolescents under such conditions amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
—Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2025
No prisoner shall be subjected to, and all prisoners shall be protected from, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
—Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Sep. 2025
Some users bragged about allegedly assaulting or blackmailing women and encouraged others to insult the women shown in photos with degrading language.
—Cnn Staff 20 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrading
Cite this Entry
“Degrading.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/degrading. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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