degrade

[dih-greyd, dee-greyd] / dɪˈgreɪd, diˈgreɪd /

VERB

shame, humiliate

Synonyms

STRONGEST

cheapen corrupt debase degenerate demean deteriorate diminish discredit disgrace downgrade impair lessen reduce vitiate weaken

STRONG

abase belittle bench break bump bust canker debauch decry demote depose deprave derogate detract disbar dishonor disparage humble injure lower pan pervert sink slam

WEAK

bemean cast down cut down to size declass mudsling put down rule out run down shoot down take down take down a peg tear down

Antonyms

STRONGEST

aid assist develop enhance enlarge expand extend grow help honor improve increase praise purify raise strengthen upgrade

STRONG

build up compliment exalt fix flatter laud mend promote rise

WEAK

admire approve elevate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Until then, connectivity may degrade throughout the region.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

The moves by the financial technology company, which owns TurboTax, Credit Karma and QuickBooks, are meant to shore up a sagging stock price—down about 33% this year—as investors worry AI will degrade software providers’ businesses.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

However, McBeth notes that continued operations would continue to degrade Iran’s command and control structure.

From Salon • Mar. 10, 2026

When evolution experiments only reward a single state, other necessary states can degrade.

From Science Daily • Mar. 9, 2026

Galen’s text had never been accompanied by illustrations—Galen explicitly said that illustrations were worthless—because in a manuscript culture complex illustrations degrade rapidly each time they are copied.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Vocabulary lists containing degrade

30 GRE Words Beginning with "D"

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"

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