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
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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
Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
OpenAI, for example, has acknowledged that safety features can degrade during longer chats.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 19 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
Michaela Rychetska, JSTOR Daily, 18 Sep. 2025
Wall Street anticipated interest rates to be eased in recent weeks, following hotter-than-expected jobs data that indicated the labor market was degrading at a faster pace than projected, and inflation, which ticked up again in August while still above the central bank’s 2% goal.
—Ty Roush, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Verb
Gasoline mixed with ethanol degrades even faster than pure gasoline and may not even last three months.
—Kamron Sanders, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Oct. 2025
OpenAI, for example, has acknowledged that safety features can degrade during longer chats.
—Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 19 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
Over time, these substances may infiltrate groundwater, creating serious long-term health concerns, degrading habitats, and endangering communities that rely on those resources.
—Michaela Rychetska, JSTOR Daily, 18 Sep. 2025
Wall Street anticipated interest rates to be eased in recent weeks, following hotter-than-expected jobs data that indicated the labor market was degrading at a faster pace than projected, and inflation, which ticked up again in August while still above the central bank’s 2% goal.
—Ty Roush, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
Adjective
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To educate all of them in similar ways is insulting, and silly.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
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Perkins said the drink bore the insulting message.—
Victoria Moorwood,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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What once was aberrant—indeed, unimaginable—is now standard Trump fare, demeaning not only to the Presidency but to the rule of law.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
9 Oct. 2025
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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
Adjective
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Police believe the act was done with malicious intent.—
Wren Smetana,
AZCentral.com,
26 Oct. 2025
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The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, the Young Republican National Federation called for the immediate resignations of leaders in the organization exposed in a Politico story to have sent racist, antisemitic and other derogatory text messages to one another in a private chat.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
16 Oct. 2025
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The Kansas Young Republicans organization was deactivated on Tuesday following an investigation by Politico into a trove of racist and derogatory messages exchanged in a group chat between young GOP members in four states.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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As Cal, Nate's abusive father, Grey's Anatomy alum Eric Dane emerged as one of the strangest and most striking characters on Euphoria.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
20 Oct. 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.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez , Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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However, the White House later released a fact sheet stating the countries will invest more than $3 billion in critical mineral projects over the next six months.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Oct. 2025
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Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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