Synonyms for
Degrade
Definition
To treat someone with disrespect or lower their status or value.
Synonyms & similar words
Synonyms by register
Antonyms
Common collocations
- degrade performance
- degrade quality
- degrade environment
- degrade soil
- degrade reputation
- degrade dignity
- degrade standards
Word family
Usage note
Can refer to a decrease in quality or status, or to the act of humiliating someone. Be mindful of the context to avoid unintended offense.
Example sentences
- He was afraid that he would degrade himself if he took the low-paying job.
- The teacher told the students not to degrade each other by making fun of their mistakes.
- The company's reputation was degraded when the news of their unethical practices was exposed.
- She felt degraded when she was forced to clean the bathroom as punishment.
- It is not right to degrade someone just because they are different from you.
Quotes
We should not degrade our own humanity by making others less human.
Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows. It degrades the lowest man to the level of the angels.
The first step in the evolution of ethics is a sense of solidarity with other human beings. There is no tribe that fails to affirm this bond. We degrade ourselves morally and intellectually when we fail to act on it.