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
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
Still, in downgrading the name to neutral, BofA expressed concerns about decelerating growth in data centers.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2025
John Choong, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Still, in downgrading the name to neutral, BofA expressed concerns about decelerating growth in data centers.
—Jim Cramer, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for downgrading
Verb
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The French prime minister was widely expected to lose the motion after failing to win support from political rivals on both the right and left for 2026 budget plans aimed at reducing the country's yawning budget deficit.—
Ganesh Rao,Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
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At Tufts University, scientists have developed a new drug that aims to boost weight loss while also reducing the nausea, muscle loss and weight regain associated with popular GLP-1 medications.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The preliminary numbers in 2024 show that statewide education efforts in Missouri appear to have been especially successful in lowering the number of teens dying from fentanyl.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
7 Sep. 2025
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Hegseth has accused the military of lowering standards in the past and vowed to raise fighting standards.—
Cybele Mayes-Osterman,
USA Today,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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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
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Spirit is furloughing 270 pilots and demoting an additional 140.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Downgrading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/downgrading. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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