degrade

degrade
verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French degrader, from Late Latin degradare, from Latin de- + gradus step, grade — more at grade Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. a. to lower in grade, rank, or status ; demote b. to strip of rank or honors c. to lower to an inferior or less effective level <
degrade the image quality
> d. to scale down in desirability or salability 2. a. to bring to low esteem or into disrepute <
his actions have degraded his profession
> b. to drag down in moral or intellectual character ; corrupt 3. to impair in respect to some physical property <
material degraded by exposure to sunlight
> 4. to wear down by erosion 5. to reduce the complexity of (a chemical compound) ; decompose intransitive verb 1. to pass from a higher grade or class to a lower 2. of a chemical compound to become reduced in complexity • degrader noun • degradingly adverb

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • 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

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