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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Denise Chow, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
Militarily, the campaign has effectively degraded the Islamic Republic’s warmaking capacities.
—Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026
Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Dec. 2025
The safety alert also offered guidance to students on recognizing possible hazing, including coercion, unsafe or degrading activities, or tasks presented as mandatory for joining a group.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025
Josh Appel, Washington Post, 5 Feb. 2026
The issue has intensified in recent years and is only set to get worse, as the relentless expansion of urban centres brings artificial light further into the countryside, permeating and degrading our view of the heavens.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Verb
Accurate predictions of when and where an uncontrolled spacecraft will fall back to Earth can be difficult to make because the process is influenced by atmospheric dynamics, space weather and the probe’s positioning as its orbit degrades.
—Denise Chow, NBC news, 10 Mar. 2026
Militarily, the campaign has effectively degraded the Islamic Republic’s warmaking capacities.
—Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
Sheriff Guidroz said the three inmates removed blocks from a degrading wall in the prison to create a hole, and used sheets to assist them in climbing down a wall and dropping to the ground.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Dec. 2025
The safety alert also offered guidance to students on recognizing possible hazing, including coercion, unsafe or degrading activities, or tasks presented as mandatory for joining a group.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 7 Dec. 2025
Verb
Making buses free risks degrading performance.
—Josh Appel, Washington Post, 5 Feb. 2026
The issue has intensified in recent years and is only set to get worse, as the relentless expansion of urban centres brings artificial light further into the countryside, permeating and degrading our view of the heavens.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
Adjective
-
While their insulting jabs at each other make for good laughs, their arc as teammates learning to work together is what gives the film its heart.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Prestianni, who has denied racially insulting Vinícius and has been defended by Benfica, was provisionally suspended for one match by UEFA and did not play in the second leg.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The play unfolds as a series of battles, where the unaccomplished George and the bitterly disappointed Martha exchange vicious and demeaning insults, using Nick and Honey as the unsuspecting pawns in their war for supremacy.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
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Jonathan was even reprimanded more than once for his name-calling and demeaning attitude towards Ana.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In reality, the messages are loaded with a malicious attachment.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Jason Hughes Many who left comments on the petition emphasized that Hughes' death did not come out of a malicious act and that the teenagers will have to live with the death for the rest of their lives.—
Maya Rosenberg,
NBC news,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
If this is the overall vibe of Friends Keep Secrets, then the show — the first acquisition for #inspo podcaster Jay Shetty’s production company — is a must-watch in the most derogatory sense of the word.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2026
-
The law requires the removal and replacement of derogatory or offensive names for geographic features and roads.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For years, insurance companies demanded that lawmakers strip away vital protections, saying that rampant fraud and abusive litigation had killed their financial solvency.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Mar. 2026
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The child’s mother — a childcare worker, cleaner and manicurist — and her children reportedly fled from Colombia four years ago to escape an abusive relationship involving a man with gang ties in that country, according to television station KTVU.—
Jakob Rodgers,
Mercury News,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Conservative pundit Meghan McCain blasted commentator Tucker Carlson after a guest on his podcast and online show this week made a disparaging remark about her weight.—
Dominick Mastrangelo,
The Hill,
5 Dec. 2025
-
Emily’s father didn’t say it in a disparaging way—more like That was just Ryan.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
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.—
Jackie Flynn Mogensen,
Scientific American,
9 Mar. 2026
-
His research reveals that airlines cut costs in critical areas to prop up the dirt-cheap prices.—
Christopher Elliott,
USA Today,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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