Degrade - English meaning

verb

Behave in a way that belittles or degrades (someone).

Usage examples:

I watched my colleagues abasing themselves before the board of trustees

verb

(of body tissue or an organ) waste away, especially as a result of the degeneration of cells, or become vestigial during evolution.

Usage examples:

The calf muscles will atrophy

noun

The process of atrophying or state of having atrophied.

Usage examples:

Gastric atrophy

verb

(of a part of the body) to be reduced in size and therefore strength, or, more generally, to become weaker

Usage examples:

After several months in a hospital bed, my leg muscles had atrophied., in the 1980s, their politica…

verb

Make (someone) cruel, violent, or insensitive to the pain of others by repeated exposure to violence.

Usage examples:

He had been brutalized in prison and become cynical

verb

To act cruelly and violently toward someone

Usage examples:

As a society we brutalize ourselves when we hurt our own members.

verb

Reduce the price of.

Usage examples:

The depreciation of the dollar would cheapen us exports

verb

To make someone or something seem less valuable and less deserving of respect

Usage examples:

What the author hates about forgeries is that they cheapen true art.

verb

Reduce (something) in quality or value; degrade.

Usage examples:

The love episodes debase the dignity of the drama

verb

To reduce in quality or value

Usage examples:

Television is often blamed for debasing american politics.

verb

(of organic matter) rot or decompose through the action of bacteria and fungi.

Usage examples:

The body had begun to decay

noun

The state or process of rotting or decomposition.

Usage examples:

Hardwood is more resistant to decay than softwood

noun

Damage, or a state that becomes gradually worse

Usage examples:

The dentist says i have a lot of tooth decay., there’s still too much crime, poverty, and decay in …

adjective

Having lost the physical, mental, or moral qualities considered normal and desirable; showing evidence of decline.

Usage examples:

A degenerate form of a higher civilization

noun

An immoral or corrupt person.

Usage examples:

Get out of my house, you degenerate!

verb

Decline or deteriorate physically, mentally, or morally.

Usage examples:

The quality of life had degenerated

verb

Deprive of positive human qualities.

Usage examples:

Brutal management methods and fear can dehumanize people

verb

To remove from a person the special human qualities of independent thought, feeling for other people, etc.

Usage examples:

It's a totalitarian regime that reduces and dehumanizes its population.

verb

Cause a severe loss in the dignity of and respect for (someone or something).

Usage examples:

I had demeaned the profession

verb

Conduct oneself in a particular way.

Usage examples:

No man demeaned himself so honourably

verb

To cause to become less respected

Usage examples:

I wouldn’t demean myself by asking my father for money., it was demeaning to be asked to leave beca…

verb

Cause a severe loss in the dignity of and respect for (someone or something).

Usage examples:

I had demeaned the profession

verb

Conduct oneself in a particular way.

Usage examples:

No man demeaned himself so honourably

verb

Past simple and past participle of demean

Usage examples:

The entire family was demeaned by his behaviour., i wouldn't demean myself by asking my parents for…

verb

Make less sensitive.

Usage examples:

Creams to desensitize the skin at the site of the injection

verb

To cause someone to experience something, usually an emotion or a pain, less strongly than before

Usage examples:

Seeing too much violence on television can desensitize people to it.

verb

Become progressively worse.

Usage examples:

Relations between the countries had deteriorated sharply

verb

To become worse

Usage examples:

She went into the hospital when her condition began to deteriorate., a deterioration in relations b…

verb

To become worse

Usage examples:

If the economy continues to deteriorate, it will affect the firm's future performance., sales will …

verb

Reduce or underestimate the worth or importance of.

Usage examples:

I resent the way people seem to devalue my achievement

verb

To reduce the rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another

Usage examples:

It caused a major crisis when the pound was devalued., the banking system was in trouble before the…

noun

Loss of reputation or respect as the result of a dishonourable action.

Usage examples:

He left the army in disgrace

verb

Bring shame or discredit on.

Usage examples:

You have disgraced the family name

noun

Embarrassment and the loss of other people’s respect, or behavior that causes this

Usage examples:

He resigned in disgrace., he’s a disgrace to his family., the lies my opponent is telling about me …

noun

A state of shame or disgrace.

Usage examples:

They have brought dishonour upon our family

verb

Bring shame or disgrace on.

Usage examples:

The ceremony was undertaken if a pupil had done something to dishonour the school

verb

If a bank dishonours a cheque, it refuses to pay it because there is not enough money in the account of the person who has written the cheque

Usage examples:

The bank of australia reversed its decision to raise fees for dishonored checks., the government ha…

adjective

Having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's importance.

Usage examples:

I felt very humble when meeting her

verb

Cause (someone) to feel less important or proud.

Usage examples:

He was humbled by his many ordeals

adjective

Tending to consider yourself as having no special importance that makes you better than others; not proud

Usage examples:

He’s a humble man and he’s not comfortable talking about his own achievements., she rose from humbl…

verb

Make (someone) feel ashamed and foolish by injuring their dignity and pride.

Usage examples:

You'll humiliate me in front of the whole school!

verb

Make (someone) feel ashamed and foolish by injuring their dignity and pride.

Usage examples:

You'll humiliate me in front of the whole school!

adjective

If someone is humiliated, they have been made to feel ashamed or stupid

Usage examples:

I've never felt so humiliated in my life.

verb

Cause (someone) to feel very embarrassed or ashamed.

Usage examples:

She was mortified to see her wrinkles in the mirror

verb

To cause someone to feel extremely ashamed or embarrassed

Usage examples:

He’s mortified by the fact that at 38 he still lives at home with his mother.

noun

A person, in particular a woman, who engages in sexual activity for payment.

Usage examples:

Others attended the ‘circuses’ in which prostitutes performed sexual stunts.

verb

Offer (someone) for sexual activity in exchange for payment.

Usage examples:

Although she was paid £15 to join a man at his table, she never prostituted herself

noun

Someone, usually a woman, who has sex with people for money

Usage examples:

Hundreds of widowed or hungry women have had to prostitute themselves to survive., fig. some critic…

verb

Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Usage examples:

The need for businesses to reduce costs

verb

Make smaller

verb

To make something less in size, amount, degree, importance, or price

Usage examples:

A low-fat diet can reduce the risk of heart disease., grunn employs 17,900 people, but that number …

noun

A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour.

Usage examples:

She was hot with shame

verb

Make (someone) feel ashamed.

Usage examples:

I tried to shame him into giving some away

exclamation

Used to express sentimental pleasure, especially at something small and endearing.

Usage examples:

Look at the foals—shame, aren't they sweet?