See Also: degrade(medicine)
degrade(1)(dictionary)
degrade(2)(dictionary)
degrade(dictionary)

degrade(2) (iou)



degrade verb. LME.
[Old & mod. French degrader from ecclesiastical Latin degradare, from de- DE- 1 + gradus rank, degree. Cf. DISGRADE.]
I. verb trans.
Reduce to lower rank, depose from a position of honour; spec. deprive formally of rank, office, degree, or ecclesiastical orders, as a punishment. (Foll. by from.) LME.
J. Priestley A priest could not be degraded but by eight bishops. J. H. Newman The man..was degraded from his high estate.
Lower in estimation; bring into dishonour or contempt. LME.
P. G. Wodehouse You're degrading yourself by sponging on him.
Lower in character or quality, debase. M17.
B. Magee They degraded art to the level of entertainment.
Chiefly Geology. Wear down and cause to disintegrate. E19.
Reduce in strength, amount, or some other measurable property. M19.
R. Cobden He proposed to degrade prices instead of aiming to sustain them.
b. spec. Reduce or tone down in colour (cf. DEGRADATION noun2). M19.
Reduce to an inferior type; make simpler or more rudimentary in structure. M19.
G. Rolleston Annelids degraded by the special habit of parasitism.
b. Physics. Reduce (energy) to a less convertible form. L19.
c. Convert to simpler substances; break down chemically. M20.
II. verb intrans.
Undergo degradation, esp. in type or structure; degenerate; break down chemically. L18.
Tennyson Throned races may degrade. New Scientist Atrazine and other herbicides..are made to degrade quickly.
Oxford & Cambridge Univs. Orig., defer taking one's honours examination for one year beyond the statutory time. Now, take an examination for a degree lower than one's standing or lower than that for which one originally entered. E19.
degrada'bility noun susceptibility to (chemical or biological) degradation M20.
degradable adjective able to be degraded; spec. susceptible to chemical or biological degradation (cf. BIODEGRADABLE): M19.
degrader noun M18.
degrading ppl adjective that degrades; esp. that lowers in dignity or debases: L17.
degradingly adverb so as to degrade; to a degrading extent: E18.