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
The tactic, analysts say, is deliberate – part of a broader effort to wear down Taiwan’s air force, degrade equipment and exhaust Taiwan’s personnel.
—
Eryk Michael Smith, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Clouds, rain and even tree canopy overhead can further degrade the signal.
—Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 27 Oct. 2025
The Pentagon said in a statement that the additional forces deployed to the Caribbean would enhance capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade transnational criminal organizations.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Paint will degrade over time in unregulated temperatures, especially as weather fluctuates for the seasons, and electronics will collect condensation in their circuit boards, internal pieces, and electrical equipment—all of which will cause warping and corrosion over time.
—Michelle Mastro, Architectural Digest, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Eryk Michael Smith, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Clouds, rain and even tree canopy overhead can further degrade the signal.
—Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 27 Oct. 2025
The Pentagon said in a statement that the additional forces deployed to the Caribbean would enhance capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade transnational criminal organizations.
—Brendan Cole, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025
Paint will degrade over time in unregulated temperatures, especially as weather fluctuates for the seasons, and electronics will collect condensation in their circuit boards, internal pieces, and electrical equipment—all of which will cause warping and corrosion over time.
—Michelle Mastro, Architectural Digest, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
Verb
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Tax rises would likely act as another damper on inflation by reducing consumer demand.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
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Researchers also stressed that the synergistic effect of K+ and C3N4 co-intercalation lowers the energy barrier, reduces the electrostatic interaction, and enhances the kinetics and structural stability.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Residents should also remain alert to rapidly changing forecasts, as conditions may deteriorate quickly.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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Grace appears dazed when others pick up on her ache, and takes a perverse pleasure in Jackson’s struggle to deal with her deteriorating mental health.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The candidate looks appropriately humiliated to be shouted down by a group of peaceful citizens voicing reasonable opposition, but the stakes are low.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
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There was this huge peak between 2000 and about 2018 where there was a decentralized anti-Fascist movement that’s responsible for Richard Spencer going home, for Matthew Heimbach being humiliated.—
Fiction Non Fiction,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sanders demoted offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur to quarterbacks coach and stripped the former NFL head coach of play-calling duties.—
Andrew McCarty,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
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He is simply demoted in sexiness without fanfare.—
Choire Sicha,
CNN Money,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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At the same time, leaving grass too long over the winter can shade the soil and weaken the grass.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
31 Oct. 2025
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In addition to the GOP leaders, most rank-and-file Senate Republicans also oppose repealing the filibuster that’s been slowly weakened by both parties in recent decades for Executive Branch and judicial nominees.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To be put in this category is discrediting.—
Meredith Wilshere,
PEOPLE,
2 Nov. 2025
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Yet despite its popularity, research discredits this long-standing belief.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The razor-sharp slasher, which leans into and subverts genre tropes, also stars Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Rose McGowan, Courtney Cox, Jamie Kennedy and David Arquette, among others.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
2 Nov. 2025
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All of it—having children because her husband wanted them, putting her career on hold to tend pear trees in a midwestern suburb—might come across as out of character for Smith, who spent her formative years subverting traditional gender roles.—
Amy Weiss-Meyer,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
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French authorities have arrested several suspects after a frantic manhunt for the men who staged a spectacular daytime heist at the Louvre museum that gripped the world and embarrassed the government in Paris.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
26 Oct. 2025
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For French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, the heist spotlights embarrassing security failings at one of France’s most venerable institutions.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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