degrade

degrade
degrader, n.
/di grayd"/ or, for 3, /dee grayd"/, v., degraded, degrading.
v.t.
1. to lower in dignity or estimation; bring into contempt: He felt they were degrading him by making him report to the supervisor.
2. to lower in character or quality; debase.
3. to reduce (someone) to a lower rank, degree, etc.; deprive of office, rank, status, or title, esp. as a punishment: degraded from director to assistant director.
4. to reduce in amount, strength, intensity, etc.
5. Physical Geog. to wear down by erosion, as hills. Cf. aggrade.
6. Chem. to break down (a compound, esp. an organic hydrocarbon).
v.i.
7. to become degraded; weaken or worsen; deteriorate.
8. Chem. (esp. of an organic hydrocarbon compound) to break down or decompose.
[1275-1325; ME degraden < LL degradare, equiv. to L de- DE- + grad(us) GRADE + -are inf. suffix]
Syn. 1. disgrace, dishonor, discredit. See humble. 2. abase, vitiate. 3. demote, depose, downgrade, lower, cashier, break.
Ant. 1, 2. exalt. 3. promote.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • dégradé — [ degrade ] n. m. • XIVe; de 2. dégrader 1 ♦ Affaiblissement ou modification progressive d une couleur, d un éclairage. Des effets de dégradé. ♢ (XXe) Cin. Procédé par lequel on fait varier l intensité lumineuse de l image. 2 ♦ Technique de coupe …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • degrade — DEGRADÉ, degradeuri, s.n. Descreştere treptată a intensităţii unei culori. ♦ (Adjectival) Aţă degrade. [var.: degradéu s.n.] – Din fr. dégradé. Trimis de dante, 14.07.2004. Sursa: DEX 98  degradé s. n., pl. degradéuri Trimis de siveco,… …   Dicționar Român

  • Degrade — Dégradé Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom …   Wikipédia en Français

  • dégradé — dégradé, ée 1. (dé gra dé, dée) part. passé de dégrader1. 1°   Qui a perdu d une manière infamante son grade, son rang. Un officier dégradé. 2°   Qui a perdu son rang, sa dignité. •   Trois princes dégradés en un même mois en marquent le… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • degrade — 1 Degrade, demote, reduce, declass, disrate mean to lower in station, rank, or grade. Degrade may be used of any such lowering {babies . . . degrade one to the state of anxious, fawning suppliants for a smile Wallace} {turkeys not in prime… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Degrade — De*grade , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Degraded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Degrading}.] [F. d[ e]grader, LL. degradare, fr. L. de + gradus step, degree. See {Grade}, and cf. {Degree}.] 1. To reduce from a higher to a lower rank or degree; to lower in rank; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • degrade — UK US /dɪˈgreɪd/ verb [I or T] ► to become worse in quality, or to make something worse: »Unlike with a cassette player, the sound of the MP3 Player doesn t degrade as the battery weakens …   Financial and business terms

  • degrade — late 14c., from O.Fr. degrader (12c.) degrade, deprive (of office, rank, etc.), from des down (see DIS (Cf. dis )) + L. gradus step (see GRADE (Cf. grade)). Related: Degraded; degrading …   Etymology dictionary

  • degrade — [dē grād′, digrād′] vt. degraded, degrading [ME degraden < OFr degrader < LL degradare, to reduce in rank < L de , down + gradus: see DE & GRADE] 1. to lower in rank or status, as in punishing; demote 2. to lower or corrupt in quality,… …   English World dictionary

  • Degrade — De*grade , v. i. (Biol.) To degenerate; to pass from a higher to a lower type of structure; as, a family of plants or animals degrades through this or that genus or group of genera. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • degrade — index abuse (violate), adulterate, contaminate, damage, debase, debauch, decry, defame …   Law dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”