Synonyms of degrading

degrading 1 of 2

adjective

di-ˈgrā-diŋ 

as in insulting

intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value

made degrading comments about his so-called friend behind his back

Synonyms & Similar Words

• insulting
• slighting
• demeaning
• malicious
• derogatory
• abusive
• disparaging
• critical
• uncomplimentary
• contemptuous
• pejorative
• deprecatory
• disdainful
• depreciatory
• scornful
• derisory
• belittling
• derogative
• venomous
• denigratory
• hateful
• depreciative
• libelous
• detractive
• nasty
• decrying
• cruel
• denigrative
• defamatory
• slanderous
• unkind
• scurrilous
• spiteful
• malignant
• malign
• calumnious
• opprobrious
• virulent
• malevolent
• maligning
• slandering
• mean
• vilifying
• caustic
• aspersing
• despiteful
• jealous
• denunciatory
• bitter
• catty
• scathing
• envious
• resentful
• acrimonious
• rancorous
• acrid
• jaundiced
• denunciative

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• positive
• laudatory
• complimentary
• commendatory
• approving
• friendly
• admiring
• respectful
• adulatory
• kind
• appreciative
• laudative
• warm
• sympathetic
• applauding
• kindly
• kindhearted
• warmhearted
• unmalicious

degrading

2 of 2

verb

present participle of degrade

1

as in reducing

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 & Similar Words

• reducing
• demoting
• downgrading
• dismissing
• busting
• sacking
• disrating
• breaking
• firing
• humiliating
• demeaning
• debasing
• downsizing
• laying off
• lowering
• canning
• humbling
• abasing
• cashiering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• promoting
• raising
• advancing
• elevating
• hiring

2

as in deteriorating

to lower in character, dignity, or quality

degrading the school's animal mascot with a silly costume

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deteriorating
• humiliating
• corrupting
• weakening
• damaging
• debasing
• demeaning
• subverting
• destroying
• poisoning
• diluting
• debauching
• perverting
• ruining
• depraving
• demoralizing
• disgracing
• polluting
• lessening
• cheapening
• prostituting
• abasing
• bastardizing
• marring
• vitiating
• warping
• contaminating
• profaning
• shaming
• tainting
• cankering
• impairing
• harming
• hurting
• humbling
• wrecking
• thinning
• defiling
• dirtying
• dishonoring
• spoiling
• tarnishing
• watering down
• staining
• befouling
• descending
• defacing
• depreciating
• downgrading
• begriming
• flawing
• taking down
• blemishing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improving
• uplifting
• elevating
• honoring
• enhancing
• exalting
• ennobling
• enriching
• amending
• ameliorating
• dignifying
• perfecting
• bettering
• cleaning
• restoring
• respecting
• purifying
• refining
• clarifying
• cleansing
• meliorating

3

as in humiliating

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 & Similar Words

• humiliating
• discrediting
• embarrassing
• insulting
• shaming
• disgracing
• debasing
• demeaning
• humbling
• dishonoring
• confusing
• cheapening
• rattling
• lowering
• abasing
• fouling
• diminishing
• criticizing
• taking down
• chastening
• ridiculing
• minimizing
• sinking
• disparaging
• mortifying
• disconcerting
• belittling
• smirching
• detracting
• discounting
• depreciating
• decrying
• maligning
• slandering
• discomfiting
• condemning
• defaming
• defiling
• confounding
• discountenancing
• flustering
• affronting
• castigating
• libeling
• denouncing
• writing off
• fazing
• abashing
• nonplussing
• damning
• censuring
• putting down
• crying down
• bad-mouthing
• execrating
• reprobating
• reprehending

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• elevating
• exalting
• praising
• citing
• honoring
• aggrandizing
• complimenting
• recognizing
• commending
• deifying
• celebrating
• boasting
• extolling
• cheering
• acknowledging
• applauding
• saluting
• lauding
• decorating
• congratulating
• hailing
• canonizing
• eulogizing
• touting
• acclaiming
• highlighting
• promoting
• dignifying
• glorifying
• advancing
• ennobling
• upgrading
• lifting
• magnifying
• spotlighting
• uplifting
• enshrining
• raising
• feting
• boosting
• playing up
• enthroning
• idealizing
• romanticizing
• enskying

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of degrading

Adjective

In principle, there is no such thing as intrinsically degrading work; degradation is a cultural phenomenon. — Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026

Beaches are routinely left covered in trash that washes into the ocean, degrading habitat and threatening marine animals through ingestion and entanglement. — Letters To The Editor, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2026

Verb

Here are the signs that your cookware may be degrading. — Kelly Vaughan, Martha Stewart, 23 June 2026

Yet the more important revolution may be occurring much closer to the front, where inexpensive drones are removing personnel, disrupting logistics, degrading air defenses and redefining the relationship between mass, maneuver, and military power. — Hunter Lacroix, Baltimore Sun, 20 June 2026