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| de·grade [ di gráyd ] (past and past participle de·grad·ed, present participle de·grad·ing, 3rd person present singular de·grades) |
verb |
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| Definition: |
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1. transitive verb treat somebody humiliatingly: to cause somebody a humiliating loss of status, self-esteem, or reputation
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2. transitive and intransitive verb worsen: to become worse, or make something become worse, especially in quality or performance
  Using the wrong fuel had significantly degraded the engine's power.
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3. transitive verb lower somebody in grade: to lower somebody in rank, grade, or level
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4. transitive and intransitive verb geology geography erode: to erode the land surface or a river bed, or be eroded by the action of wind, ice, or water.
See also aggrade
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5. transitive verb environment destroy or damage environment: to cause damage or destruction to part of the environment as a result of human activity
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6. transitive and intransitive verb physics reduce available energy: to reduce irreversibly the energy available in matter, or be reduced irreversibly
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| [14th century. Via French< ecclesiastical Latin degradare "reduce in rank" < Latin gradus "step, stage"] |
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| de·grad·ed adjective |
| de·grad·er noun |
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