How to Use degradable in a Sentence

degradable

adjective
  • Look for commercial cleaners that are bio-degradable and safe for storm drains.
    — Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 30 Aug. 2025
  • Using flimsy or degradable sealants that allow bats to reenter.
    — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 24 June 2026
  • Non-bio degradable by design, plexiglass or poly methyl methacrylate isn’t easy to recycle.
    — Anne Quito, Quartz, 29 June 2021
  • Left without a viable plan, tons of non-degradable plastic partitions will likely end up in a landfill.
    — Anne Quito, Quartz, 29 June 2021
  • Typically, they are made of non-degradable plastics, which are discarded after use.
    — Hafsa Khalil, CNN, 15 Nov. 2022
  • Freund said her family, looking for new ways to get rid of the manure their cows produce, have been producing and selling bio-degradable pots made from cow poop.
    — Gregory B. Hladky, courant.com, 13 Aug. 2019
  • Oxo-degradable plastic breaks down faster under exposure to heat and light and photodegradable plastic breaks down more easily in sunlight.
    — Grace Wu, Good Housekeeping, 11 July 2022
  • The European Union is currently working to ban oxo-degradable plastics.
    — Troy Farah, Ars Technica, 20 Jan. 2020
  • The unscented, fully degradable formula is safe for a closed-loop water system like the one used on the ISS.
    — Gear Team, Wired, 6 Jan. 2022
  • Non-degradable plastic bags will be banned in major Chinese cities by the end of this year, with smaller cities and towns following in 2022.
    — James Osborne, Houston Chronicle, 20 Jan. 2020
  • The crystals are hand-picked for size consistency and then colored with bio-degradable lacquer paint, which Bovet says has no impact on the environment.
    — Carol Besler, Robb Report, 12 May 2021
  • Notpla, based in London, has developed a natural and bio-degradable plastic alternative made from seaweed and plants.
    — Collin Robisheaux, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Dec. 2022
  • This means that easily degradable components in fresh poo (carbohydrates, proteins and sugars) are broken down, leaving behind more stable ones.
    — Naomi Deering, Smithsonian, 12 July 2017
  • For instance, the plastic, non-degradable tableware that will be banned in many restaurants this year will only be partially phased out in takeaway containers by 2025.
    — Ben Westcott, CNN, 20 Jan. 2020
  • Making these batteries is challenging, because the active materials have to be stable during their operation, but degradable at end of life.
    — Lucy Sherriff, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2021
  • Notpla is a natural and bio-degradable plastic alternative made from seaweed and plants and can be used to create a range of packaging products, such as a bubble to hold liquids and a coating for food.
    — Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 3 Dec. 2022
  • Aardvark's straws use only FDA-compliant and food-grade materials, and are marine degradable and compostable.
    — Sarah Bowman, Indianapolis Star, 24 June 2018
  • There was no money for the project, and some women were initially less than enthusiastic about sifting through their household’s garbage each day to separate bio-degradable trash, plastics, glass, and metals.
    — Nicholas Blanford, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 June 2017
  • But its contents were coated with dust, grime and debris, and in the case of the Schlicker organ, with its intricate inner workings and its use of degradable materials, like leather, the damage proved disabling.
    — James R. Oestreich, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2018
  • For medical applications, scaffolds generally need to be safe for implantation, must not induce a response from the body’s immune system, be degradable and capable of supporting cell growth.
    — Natalie R. Rubio, The Conversation, 5 July 2019
  • To speed cheaper lighting, decay-resistant produce, degradable plastics, and other products to market, DuPont is installing better tools and lab automation.
    — Joseph N. Distefano, Philly.com, 18 June 2018
  • The goal behind much of Kohn’s work is to use degradable polymers and tissue scaffolds to regenerate human body parts, replacing a wide array of existing prostheses and artificial implants, which are shown in this image.
    — Katie Drummond, WIRED, 24 Sep. 2012
  • Spiber is careful to point out that even the unfinished Brewed Protein is degradable in ocean water, with over 70 percent breakdown in 30 days, thereby ensuring that micro-particles do not remain.
    — Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 28 Jan. 2026
  • For example, according to the document, the catering industry will be banned from using single-use plastic cutlery in major cities by the end of 2020, while non-degradable plastic straws will be unavailable nationwide.
    — Ben Westcott, CNN, 20 Jan. 2020
  • Becker and 21MedTech, a medical technologies company, have licensed the degradable polymer technology.
    — Karen Farkas, cleveland.com, 11 Dec. 2017
  • Leading Chinese brands are driving this momentum with substantial investments in recyclable materials, sustainable packaging, and degradable textiles.
    — Sunny Tan, Sourcing Journal, 22 Oct. 2025
  • This is why biologically produced and therefore easily degradable alternatives are an important contribution to reducing the ecological footprint.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2025
  • By March of this year, Ford and Lonely Whale announced the eight finalists who are now going through a year-long material testing phase to ensure their materials are biologically degradable—and market ready—by 2025.
    — Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 3 Aug. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'degradable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: