Word Direct Answers

What does "degradation" mean?

Degradation: 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. Macaulay. Deplorable is the degradation of our nature. South. Moments there frequently must be, when a sidegradation of his state. Blair.

Additional senses

  1. 2.Diminution or reduction of strength, efficacy, or value; degeneration; deterioration. The development and degradation of the alphabetic forms can be traced. I. Taylor (The Alphabet).
  2. 3.(Geol.) A gradual wearing down or wasting, as of rocks and banks, by the action of water, fro 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. Dana.
  3. 4.(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.

Sources