Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Degradation
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 bishopHe saw many removes and
degradations
in all the other offices of which he had been possessed. Clarendon.
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. Macaulay.
Deplorable is the
degradation
of our nature. South.
Moments there frequently must be, when a sinner is sensible of the
degradation
of his state. Blair.
3.
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).
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. Dana.
6.
(Physiol.)
Arrest of development, or degeneration of any organ, or of the body as a whole.
Syn. – Abasement; debasement; reduction; decline.
Webster 1828 Edition
Degradation
DEGRADATION
, n.1.
A reducing in rank; the act of depriving one of a degree of honor, of dignity, or of rank; also, deposition; removal or dismission from office; as the degradation of a peer, of a knight, or of a bishop, in England.2.
The state of being reduced from an elevated or more honorable station, to one that is low in fact or in estimation; baseness; degeneracy.Deplorable is the degradation of our nature.
3.
Diminution or reduction of strength, efficacy or value.4.
In painting, a lessening and obscuring of the appearance of distant objects in a landscape, that they may appear as they would do to an eye placed at a distance.5.
Diminution; reduction of altitude or magnitude.