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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Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deteriorating
to lower in character, dignity, or quality
degrading the school's animal mascot with a silly costume
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of 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
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2025
The result is an altering of the model weight by a whopping 216, degrading model accuracy from 80 percent to 0.1 percent, said Gururaj Saileshwar, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and co-author of an academic paper demonstrating the attack.
—ArsTechnica, 14 July 2025
Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2025
People start degrading in health after age 60 or 65.
—Alice Park, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Verb
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
Adjective
In a degrading battery, the researchers observed two key signs of trouble.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 5 Aug. 2025
The result is an altering of the model weight by a whopping 216, degrading model accuracy from 80 percent to 0.1 percent, said Gururaj Saileshwar, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto and co-author of an academic paper demonstrating the attack.
—ArsTechnica, 14 July 2025
Verb
The research revealed a strong correlation between microbial plastic-degrading potential and global plastic pollution levels, suggesting bacteria are adapting to what’s available.
—Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 9 Oct. 2025
People start degrading in health after age 60 or 65.
—Alice Park, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
Adjective
-
Altman seems to find the question insulting.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
10 Nov. 2025
-
To educate all of them in similar ways is insulting, and silly.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In a post dripping with arrogance, Lynch dished out demeaning nicknames for her recent opponents.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
-
But parading around half-naked at competitions felt demeaning.—
Sean Williams,
Outside,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
8 Nov. 2025
-
For many of Modi’s supporters, Mamdani’s rhetoric is seen as a malicious attack on the country’s majority religion.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
On Friday, Angels lawyer Stephen Ladsous showed Tarter his X account, which had multiple retweets of derogatory posts about team owner Arte Moreno.—
Sam Blum,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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In a May 2025 interview with the Daily Mail, Davis denied talking about his political views or using derogatory language around Stause.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The biopic also stars Ben Foster as the trainer who becomes her abusive husband.—
Lexy Perez,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Nov. 2025
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At one point during the hearing, Richards pleaded for a tissue and began crying while recalling a particularly abusive event in May.—
Tracy Wright , Christina Dugan Ramirez , Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Emily’s father didn’t say it in a disparaging way—more like That was just Ryan.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
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And there would be lots of soldiers around, either Army or National Guard, and the people who were civilians would be young people, very disparaging about the military.—
Steve Baltin,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The shutdown has disrupted federal operations, delayed pay for hundreds of thousands of workers, and put critical programs at risk.—
Deputy News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Nov. 2025
-
Some fans were critical of Chiefs general manager Brett Veach when the team failed to make a deal last week ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.
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