degrade

1 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 Synonyms break, bust, demote, disrate, downgrade, reduceRelated Words can, cashier, dismiss, downsize, fire, lay off, sack; abase, debase, demean, humble, humiliate, lowerNear Antonyms hireAntonyms advance, elevate, promote, raise

2 to lower in character, dignity, or quality degrading the school's animal mascot with a silly costume Synonyms abase, bastardize, canker, cheapen, corrupt, debauch, debase, demean, demoralize, deprave, deteriorate, lessen, pervert, poison, profane, prostitute, subvert, vitiate, warpRelated Words befoul, begrime, contaminate, defile, dilute, dirty, pollute, taint, thin, water down, weaken; descend; disgrace, dishonor, humble, humiliate, shame, take down; blemish, damage, deface, destroy, flaw, harm, hurt, impair, mar, ruin, spoil, stain, tarnish, wreck; depreciate, downgradeNear Antonyms dignify, exalt, honor; ameliorate, amend, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect; clarify, clean, cleanse, purify, refine, restore; respectAntonyms elevate, ennoble, uplift

3 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 Synonyms abase, chasten, cheapen, debase, humble, demean, discredit, disgrace, dishonor, foul, humiliate, lower, shame, sink, smirch, take downRelated Words abash, confound, confuse, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, embarrass, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle; belittle, castigate, criticize, cry down, decry, depreciate, detract, diminish, discount, disparage, minimize, put down, ridicule, write off; bad-mouth, defame, defile, libel, malign, slander; affront, insult; censure, condemn, damn, denounce, execrate, reprehend, reprobateNear Antonyms acclaim, applaud, boast, celebrate, cheer, cite, commend, compliment, congratulate, decorate, eulogize, extol (also extoll), fete (or fête), hail, honor, laud, praise, salute, tout; acknowledge, recognize; highlight, play up, spotlight; dignify, ennoble, enshrine, ensky, enthrone, glorify, magnify; advance, boost, lift, promote, raise, upgrade, uplift; idealize, romanticizeAntonyms aggrandize, canonize, deify, elevate, exalt