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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of degrade
They are also linked to U.S. aims of degrading Iran's proxies in the region and send a message to Tehran at a time the United States is threatening to strike its nuclear program.
—
Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Government lawyers argue that Meta's services have degraded in quality in part because of its dominant position in the marketplace.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 13 Apr. 2025
According to the National Institutes of Health, ALS progressively degrades, then kills nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025
Without continuous oversight and retraining, AI can stagnate, reinforce errors or even degrade in accuracy over time.
—Ivana Johnston, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
Government lawyers argue that Meta's services have degraded in quality in part because of its dominant position in the marketplace.
—Bobby Allyn, NPR, 13 Apr. 2025
According to the National Institutes of Health, ALS progressively degrades, then kills nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2025
Without continuous oversight and retraining, AI can stagnate, reinforce errors or even degrade in accuracy over time.
—Ivana Johnston, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrade
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degrade
Verb
-
Ars Video The technique reduced the lag between the patient’s brain signals and the resultant audio from the eight seconds the group had achieved previously to one second.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Not having injured Jalen Suggs, their most disruptive perimeter defender, reduces their volume of transition scoring opportunities.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
That volume is masking deteriorating demand from key sectors - particularly domestic manufacturing, which drives more than 60% of big rig ton miles, and ocean imports.—
Lisa Baertlein,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2025
-
The setting of the urban scenes was crafted by dressing up these Welsh locations to mimic a deteriorating American metropolis, Screen Rant reported.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Shawn reluctantly agrees, but is humiliated when Cory starts acting corny around his friend Gambling Dan (Phil Buckman), and his lackey, Louie (Weiss).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
16 Apr. 2025
-
He must be seen standing up to foreign oppressors who seek to humiliate China and thwart its rightful rise.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Politicized Prosecutions: Martin has reshaped the office to reflect Trump’s priorities, firing or demoting prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases and targeting Trump’s critics with legal threats.—
Jeremy Kohler,
ProPublica,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Jose Miranda summons his inner ‘Hamilton’ After getting demoted to the minors, Lin-Manuel Miranda's cousin became an early leader in our annual Injury of the Year competition.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The pests set about sucking the sap from grape roots, slowly weakening them and opening wounds that invited disease.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
28 Apr. 2025
-
As more state legislation is passed that weakens or eliminates longstanding fire and life safety codes, the need for young workers who are trained and passionate about reversing these trends is high.—
Jim Pauley,
Forbes.com,
28 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Biden’s actions continue to discredit the legitimacy of our judicial system.—
Carl Burdette,
Baltimore Sun,
21 Apr. 2025
-
The current page suggests this paper's explicit intention was to discredit the lab leak theory and remove any doubt that the origins were of natural origin.—
Youri Benadjaoud,
ABC News,
18 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
From the outset, Nortec’s work challenged conventions, subverting stereotypes of Mexican identity — like the outsider trope of the gun-slinging charro donning a weed plant shirt in a lawless Tijuana — while exploring new artistic terrain.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Some accused him of overlooking the Democrats’ role in subverting democratic norms, citing, for example, President Obama’s embrace of executive power, or the Democratic attempt to filibuster Neil M. Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
O’Neil had shown a more ruthless streak in dealing with Lemina, stripping the midfielder of the captaincy after those embarrassing post-match scenes at West Ham.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Punk proceeded to beatdown and embarrass McIntyre, leading to Priest cashing in his Money in the Bank contract and winning the title from McIntyre.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Degrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degrade. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share