degrading
/dɪˈɡɹeɪdɪŋ(ɡ)/
degrading is the present participle and gerund of degrade.
Meaning of degrade
Verb
degrade (third-person singular simple present degrades, present participle degrading, simple past and past participle degraded)
- To lower in value or social position.
- Fred degrades himself by his behaviour.
- To reduce in quality or purity.
- The DNA sample has degraded.
- To reduce in altitude or magnitude, as hills and mountains; to wear down.
Adjective
degrading (comparative more degrading, superlative most degrading)
- Causing or likely to cause someone to feel degraded.
- Retrieving my dropped possessions from the mud was a degrading experience.
Noun
degrading (plural degradings)
- An act or process of degradation.
Forms of degrading
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more degrading |
| superlative | most degrading |
| Noun | |
| plural | degradings |
Words formed from degrading
Phrases with degrading
Words that rhyme with degrading
Questions about degrading
- What does degrading mean?
- Degrading means causing or likely to cause someone to feel degraded.
- What is degrading the present participle and gerund of?
- Degrading is the present participle and gerund of degrade.
- What part of speech is degrading?
- Degrading can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce degrading?
- Degrading is pronounced /dɪˈɡɹeɪdɪŋ(ɡ)/ (UK).
Words near degrading in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: degrading (page history and authors); degrade (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-degrading.wav.
Cite this entry: “degrading.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/degrading. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.