degrade 1 of 3

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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2
3

degrading

2 of 3

adjective

degrading

3 of 3

verb (2)

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
3

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of degrade
Verb
Large language models are unleashing a flood of slop that is threatening to degrade or even kill the internet. James Folta, Literary Hub, 26 Sep. 2025 That’s the really terrifying part of this particular edit — AI alterations that exist to serve censorship and degrade creators’ original storytelling. Brian Welk, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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 Another study in Frontiers in Neuroscience found that even moderate, chronic sleep restriction produces cumulative effects, subtly degrading decision quality and emotional regulation over time. Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
Verb
Are officials degrading citizens’ Internet access to sell them VPNs? Dave Smith, Fortune, 2 Sep. 2025 Airstrikes, however, won’t be any more effective at degrading the cartels or diminishing the flow of drugs into the United States than ground operations would be. Daniel R. Depetris, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
Adjective
  • To educate all of them in similar ways is insulting, and silly.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025
  • Perkins said the drink bore the insulting message.
    Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer, 22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • For decades, Indigenous leaders and advocates across the state and country have been trying to convince school communities that the use of such mascots and logos are inappropriate, demeaning and harmful.
    Frank Vaisvilas, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025
  • One detainee who submitted an account to the court that was referenced by Gregorio described sleeping in foul-smelling facilities and facing demeaning treatment by ICE agents.
    Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Lorena, now 55, was charged with malicious wounding, a felony offense, but was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity following a two-week trial in early 1994.
    Mark Gray, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Clark, who hasn’t played a game since July 15 because of a groin injury that ended her season, was dragged into the spotlight because of derogatory remarks made about her by WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
    MSNBC Newsweek, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The videos also include made up audio of Schumer making derogatory comments about immigrants, as mariachi music played in the background.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Heartbreaking to hear her talk about needing an escape from her abusive husband.
    Grace Byron, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Among them was a mom of three trying to work up the courage to leave her abusive partner.
    Essence, Essence, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • The 2023 Economic Report Of The President published in March of 2023 was relatively disparaging of cryptoassets and DLTs.
    Lawrence Wintermeyer, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • But during a critical game early in the season, that’s exactly what took place.
    The Athletic NFL Staff, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Others took note of Jones on that play, and many were critical of the Chiefs star.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

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