1
as in to reduce
to bring to a lower grade or rank
the view that such a system degrades doctors to the status of medical employees who ultimately are not in charge of their patients' health care
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to deteriorate
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
degrading the school's animal mascot with a silly costume
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to humiliate
to reduce to a lower standing in one's own eyes or in others' eyes
the players degraded themselves with their crude antics off the field
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of degrade
As the craft of writing is degraded by A.I., original writing has become a valuable resource for training language models.
—
Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Unfortunately, this can create new problems, with breakdowns at the interfaces between materials slowly degrading the battery's capacity.
—ArsTechnica, 26 June 2025
Keeping them clean is important for optimal performance, but lemon juice can degrade the rubber over time, leading to leaks and poor seals.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 26 June 2025
One of the challenges is that signals in fiber-optic cables degrade over distance.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Unfortunately, this can create new problems, with breakdowns at the interfaces between materials slowly degrading the battery's capacity.
—ArsTechnica, 26 June 2025
Keeping them clean is important for optimal performance, but lemon juice can degrade the rubber over time, leading to leaks and poor seals.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 26 June 2025
One of the challenges is that signals in fiber-optic cables degrade over distance.
—Reed Albergotti, semafor.com, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
Verb
-
As part of its strategy to reduce cancer rates, the European Commission aims to reduce tobacco use to less than 5% of the EU population by 2040.—
Lisa Klaassen,
CNN Money,
1 July 2025
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As part of a long push to dig itself out of a financial hole triggered by the Covid pandemic, AMC Entertainment announced a multi-pronged agreement with creditors and lenders to reduce its leverage and take out near-term maturities.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
1 July 2025
Verb
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The Astros traded Pressly as a pure salary dump, influenced in part by his deteriorating relationship with general manager Dana Brown.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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Kenya’s deteriorating economy — youth unemployment stands at 67% — has turned the country into a tinderbox: Yesterday’s protests were preceded by violent demonstrations against the killing of a blogger while in police custody, leaving many seeking answers.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Then two of his classmates did something magical. 'And I was humiliated again' The story Griffin started to tell began in first grade just after his family moved from one part of his suburban New York town to another, and Griffin was the new kid in school.—
Brad Schmitt,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
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Why risk thousands of dollars to be humiliated and possibly denied entry?—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Ballard is a maverick who’s been demoted to assembling a volunteer team, literally in the basement, to review cold case files.—
Stephen Schaefer,
Boston Herald,
6 July 2025
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Then there is Liam Lawson, who was demoted from the Red Bull second seat down to Racing Bulls.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 June 2025
Verb
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But in an unexpected ruling in 2023, the Supreme Court declined an invitation to weaken Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.—
June 27,
CBS News,
27 June 2025
-
Abandoning recognition can erode motivation, diminish engagement and make employees feel invisible, weakening the cultural fabric and undermining long-term resilience.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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That terrifying consequence alone is sufficient to discredit the executive order.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
30 June 2025
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And for that, I was met with silence, deflection, and efforts to discredit me.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
25 June 2025
Verb
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The final scene subverted what was previously known about Dave, a man established to be a passionate investigator and aspiring writer trapped in a complicated relationship.—
Raven Brunner,
People.com,
28 June 2025
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Erotic surrender alone will not subvert or even really trouble the monarchy, which requires its own elaborately binding outfits and public displays of intimacy.—
Helen Shaw,
New Yorker,
26 June 2025
Verb
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SoCal embarrassed the Jekyll & Hyde Utah team, who were flying how but who lose easily to the near-last place Hard Eights for their only win of the weekend.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Such an attack might embarrass Trump and spur him to make good on his threat in his address to the nation on Saturday evening to respond to Iran with even greater force.—
Uri Friedman,
The Atlantic,
23 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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