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Definitions

degrade

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


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.

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That would come at a cost: Refined products can degrade and must be continually replaced.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 17, 2026

Recognizing that 9/11’s horrors compounded over the years does not degrade the memory of its initial victims.

From Slate Sep. 11, 2026

The environmental impact of traditional balloons, which despite their advertising do not degrade, is largely unknown to the general public.

From Barron's Aug. 23, 2026

Medical applications include wound dressings, drug delivery systems, and resorbable implants or sutures that slowly degrade inside the body.

From Science Daily Aug. 17, 2026

I could not shake the almost desperate sadness all this evoked, and I marveled that sounds could so degrade the spirit.

From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin

As permafrost degrades, glacial lake outbursts and rock-ice avalanches are expected to increase, producing faster, debris-laden floods that are harder to forecast.

From BBC Sep. 3, 2026

The updated lawsuit also points to a blog post OpenAI published the day the initial lawsuit was filed, in which it acknowledged that its safety training sometimes degrades in long conversations.

From The Wall Street Journal Oct. 22, 2025

Diet activates autophagy -- a cellular "clean-up" process that degrades and recycles damaged proteins.

From Science Daily Oct. 15, 2025

Sickness spreads, often directly through viruses or indirectly by depleting family resources, putting stress on people that degrades their health.

From Salon May 27, 2025

It degrades the citizen, debases the legislator, dishonors statesmen, and disarms the patriot.

From Ingersollia Gems of Thought from the Lectures, Speeches, and Conversations of Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, Representative of His Opinions and Beliefs by Robert Green Ingersoll

If some of these satellites get hacked, damaged, derailed, or destroyed, America’s ability to fight a war would be seriously degraded.

From Slate Sep. 17, 2026

There are a few fun visual gags about the degraded far-future — a hospital named St. God’s, the city’s digital clock tower being stuck on a blinking 12:00 — but its punchlines tend toward nasty.

From Salon Sep. 6, 2026

The researchers "tested it in soil, seawater and deionised water. It degraded in all of those conditions ... and we estimate that it would biodegrade within about nine months," she said.

From Barron's Aug. 23, 2026

The section of West Cliff Drive near where the accident took place was heavily damaged by high waves during the winter of 2023-24 and has been further degraded by ongoing coastal erosion.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 18, 2026

Far from being modern breadbaskets, they include areas ranking today as somewhat dry or ecologically degraded: Iraq and Iran, Mexico, the Andes, parts of China, and Africa’s Sahel zone.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

"Your battery works less well than before after using it thousands of times - that degrading or aging can be slowed down when you're using a nanocoating," Colen explains.

From BBC Sep. 10, 2026

With Android foldables the crease where the display folds can be often noticeable, degrading the consumer experience.

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 9, 2026

“The experience was traumatizing, degrading and humiliating,” André said when the lawsuit was filed.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 19, 2026

A ride on a people mover feels even more degrading in comparison to the alternative mode serving other travelers.

From Slate Aug. 18, 2026

She would chain herself with other ladies to the gates of Congress and the Supreme Court, setting off a degrading spectacle that made all their husbands look ridiculous.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende




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