1
as in reducing
to bring to a lower grade or rank
increased automation resulted in many jobs in the factory being downgraded
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lowering
to diminish the price or value of
the company's filing for Chapter 11 downgraded the stock to the point where it was selling for pennies a share
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of downgrading
Those trends might suggest drivers are downgrading to bare-minimum liability insurance.
—
Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
The administration has withheld routine forms of assistance from Taiwan—including by downgrading a defense dialogue with the island, denying Taiwanese President William Lai the ability to briefly visit the United States while traveling elsewhere, and blocking a major arms sales package.
—Mira Rapp-Hooper, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Still, any Emirati response would likely stop at downgrading diplomatic ties rather than severing them, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
—Yossi Shelley, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Along with downgrading Coker’s status, the Panthers also elevated offensive tackle Brandon Walton and cornerback Keion Crossen from the practice squad.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 11 Oct. 2025
The scores reflected the judges' differing opinions, with Hough downgrading from his eight of last week to a score of seven and Inaba nudging up to an eight.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
One of the biggest reasons why users may consider downgrading to iOS 18 is the new Liquid Glass design.
—PC Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
Debating downgrading before the new eye-watering $795 annual fee.
—R29 Team, Refinery29, 19 Sep. 2025
With ratings agencies such as Fitch downgrading ASDA’s debt profile, the scale of rollbacks may lessen by Christmas if sales don’t improve, as the firm may not want to risk further rating downgrades or liquidity strains.
—John Choong, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
The administration has withheld routine forms of assistance from Taiwan—including by downgrading a defense dialogue with the island, denying Taiwanese President William Lai the ability to briefly visit the United States while traveling elsewhere, and blocking a major arms sales package.
—Mira Rapp-Hooper, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
Still, any Emirati response would likely stop at downgrading diplomatic ties rather than severing them, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
—Yossi Shelley, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Along with downgrading Coker’s status, the Panthers also elevated offensive tackle Brandon Walton and cornerback Keion Crossen from the practice squad.
—Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 11 Oct. 2025
The scores reflected the judges' differing opinions, with Hough downgrading from his eight of last week to a score of seven and Inaba nudging up to an eight.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Oct. 2025
One of the biggest reasons why users may consider downgrading to iOS 18 is the new Liquid Glass design.
—PC Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025
Debating downgrading before the new eye-watering $795 annual fee.
—R29 Team, Refinery29, 19 Sep. 2025
With ratings agencies such as Fitch downgrading ASDA’s debt profile, the scale of rollbacks may lessen by Christmas if sales don’t improve, as the firm may not want to risk further rating downgrades or liquidity strains.
—John Choong, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downgrading
Verb
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Under the new terms of the license, Chevron was authorized to pay fees and royalties to Venezuela in oil but not in cash, effectively reducing Chevron’s crude exports from the country by half, according to Reuters.—
Stefano Pozzebon,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
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The initiative’s foundation addresses the problem of inconsistent and burdensome reporting by engaging the industry to define an optional (and non-exhaustive) questionnaire aimed at strengthening data quality and consistency while significantly reducing the administrative burden on suppliers.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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If confirmed by future research, the approach could provide a powerful new weapon to fight heart disease, the nation's leading killer, freeing people from the need to take statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs every day.—
NPR,
NPR,
8 Nov. 2025
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Expanding options for patients For people with high LDL cholesterol who may not respond sufficiently to commonly used treatments like statins alone, there is already the option to take injectable cholesterol-lowering PCSK9 inhibitors that are currently on the market.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Considering this poor return (scoring points was a key target in demoting Doohan for Colapinto), Briatore acknowledged during the Dutch GP weekend that Alpine may have unnecessarily burdened its young Argentine driver.—
Madeline Coleman,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
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Spirit has been looking for ways to slash costs, including furloughing and demoting hundreds more pilots and cutting unprofitable routes.—
Leslie Josephs,
CNBC,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Downgrading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downgrading. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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