English Lexicon

Degraded

/dɪˈɡreɪ.dɪd/
adjectiveCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #3400 frequency
Full Thesaurus

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As adjective
  1. 1

    Reduced in quality, character, or value; fallen to a low moral or physical standard.

    "He was known for his degraded behavior after years of bad influences."
  2. 2

    Having been damaged or chemically broken down into simpler components.

    "The soil in the deforested region is severely degraded and lacks nutrients."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'de-' (down, away) and 'gradus' (step), passing through Old French 'dégrader' meaning to reduce in rank or lower in quality. By the 16th century, the English adjective evolved to describe something reduced to a lower state of moral, physical, or structural condition.

Quick Vocabulary Retention Check

Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Degraded"?

Thesaurus & Synonyms Graph

Explore Nuanced Synonyms for "Degraded"

Discover exact matches, context-specific alternatives, and antonyms with intensity ratings in the VocabDictionary Thesaurus.

View "Degraded" Synonym Map