Degradation Meaning
/ˌdɛɡɹəˈdeɪʃən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe act of reducing in rank, character, or reputation, or of abasing; a lowering from one's standing or rank in office or society
nounThe state of being reduced in rank, character, or reputation; baseness; moral, physical, or intellectual degeneracy; disgrace; abasement; debasement.
Sentence Examples
Will humanity be able to prevent the degradation of ecosystems?
Starch degradation is linked to a circadian clock.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The constant ____ of the forest soil made farming impossible.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Will humanity be able to prevent the ____ of ecosystems?
Word Origin & History
From French dégradation. Morphologically degrade + -ation.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"This feature of good organization, the conferring of definite local superior rank, and the protection of the incumbent from unnecessary degradation, was discovered centuries ago by another effective institution, the Catholic church."
— 1912, Charles DeLano Hine, Letters from an old railway official: Letter 7:
"There will be no poverty. All work will be done by living machines. Everybody will be free from worry and liberated from the degradation of labor. Everybody will live only to perfect himself."
— c. 1921 (date written), Karel Čapek, translated by Paul Selver, R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots): A Fantastic Melodrama […], Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1923, →OCLC, Act 1:
"Money is the great breaker-up of love and friendship; and this is, I believe, the reason of the common saying, that "large families get on best in the world," because they can receive from each other assistance without degradation."
— 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Different Views of Life”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 112:
"The extent of the damage to the military is still unclear and disputed, but the repeated bombings of the army and revolutionary guard bases and installations suggests substantial degradation of Iran's military power. Militarisation had long consumed a vast amount of the nation's resources."
— 2025 June 26, Kasra Naji, “When Iran's supreme leader emerges from hiding he will find a very different nation”, in BBC:
"Overexploitation of land for fuelwood is a further cause of soil degradation in Africa, Asia and South America"
— 2017, Nigel Woodcock, Geology and Environment In Britain and Ireland:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The constant ____ of the forest soil made farming impossible.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Will humanity be able to prevent the ____ of ecosystems?