DEGRADATION • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Degradation

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/dˌɛgrədˈeɪʃən/ Listen

noun

Degradation n.

1.

The act of reducing in rank, character, or reputation, or of abasing; a lowering from one's standing or rank in office or society; diminution; as, the degradation of a peer, a knight, a general, or a bishop. "He saw many removes and degradations in all the other offices of which he had been possessed."

2.

The state of being reduced in rank, character, or reputation; baseness; moral, physical, or intellectual degeneracy; disgrace; abasement; debasement. "The... degradation of a needy man of letters." "Deplorable is the degradation of our nature." "Moments there frequently must be, when a sinner is sensible of the degradation of his state."

3.

Diminution or reduction of strength, efficacy, or value; degeneration; deterioration. "The development and degradation of the alphabetic forms can be traced."

4.

(Geol.) A gradual wearing down or wasting, as of rocks and banks, by the action of water, frost etc.

5.

(Biol.) The state or condition of a species or group which exhibits degraded forms; degeneration. "The degradation of the species man is observed in some of its varieties."

6.

(Physiol.) Arrest of development, or degeneration of any organ, or of the body as a whole.

Degradation of energy, or Dissipation of energy (Physics), the transformation of energy into some form in which it is less available for doing work.

Synonyms: Abasement; debasement; reduction; decline.

See images of 'Degradation'

Etymology of 'Degradation'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Degradation" Quotes from Famous Books

... not to yield to it— he could not see his way. He had long ago forgotten the fire, and blood, and shame. No Whisperer reminded him of that black page in the history of his life; he had been immune of conscience. He could not understand this man before him. It was as bad a case of human degradation as ever he had seen—he remembered the stalwart, if dissipated, ranchman who had acted on his instigation. He knew now that he had made a foolish blunder then, that the scheme had been one of his failures; but he had never looked on it as with eyes reproving crime. As ...

— The Judgment House • Gilbert Parker

... dragged almost beneath a horse's hoofs, cast into a wagon with wrists bound together, carried in the rear of an army with the rest of the victor's spoils, and immured within Russian walls. She felt again on her lips the degradation of the first kiss of this man whose suppliant, pitiful ...

— Prince Zilah, Complete • Jules Claretie

... the abolition of serfdom in Prussia was promulgated, and time is rapidly effacing many of the social evils which that institution entailed. But this is not the case with Russia, where emancipation was only declared ten years ago, and is not completed even yet. The causes that superinduce the degradation and debasement of women can therefore still be seen at work in that country, and are thus depicted by an eye-witness. He is speaking of the condition of the peasantry of Russia subsequent to the decree of emancipation, and so far as my own observation in that country goes, I can corroborate ...

— Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 15, No. 89, May, 1875 • Various

... at classical Florence Court; have picked up native gold at Avoca; have done the Round Towers, possibly Phoenician Baal-temples; have handled Brian Boroime's harp; and have been shocked everywhere by the poverty and degradation of that musical barbarian's miserable because idle people. What can be done for those who will not ...

— My Life as an Author • Martin Farquhar Tupper

... the country; other things, that make up for the stir of the city," said Michael thoughtfully. This was the first unpractical conversation he had tried to hold with Sam. He had been leading him up, through the various stages from dirt and degradation, by means of soap and water, then paper and paint, and now they had reached the doorway of Nature's school. Michael wanted to introduce Sam to the great world of out-of-doors. For, though Sam had lived all his life out-of-doors, it had been a world of brick walls and stone pavements, ...

— Lo, Michael! • Grace Livingston Hill

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