English Reference

Word

degrading

Phoneticsde·grad·ing

US/dɪˈɡɹeɪdɪŋ/

UK/dɪɡɹˈeɪdɪŋ/

Definitions

01humiliating

B2

adj. causing you to feel a loss of dignity or self-respect.

adj. causing a person to feel a loss of self-worth or social standing; often used to describe treatment or conditions that are dehumanising.

“The prisoners were kept in degrading conditions without enough food or clean water.”

“The human rights report criticised the degrading treatment of refugees, arguing that such systemic humiliation violates international law.”

Usage

Often used to describe conditions, treatment, or tasks that strip away a person's pride.

02breaking down

C1 · Science

n. the process of something becoming worse or breaking into smaller parts.

n. the act or process of degradation, particularly the chemical or physical breakdown of a substance.

“The degrading of the plastic in the ocean takes hundreds of years.”

“The rapid degrading of the soil quality was attributed to intensive farming practices and the lack of crop rotation.”

Technical

Usage

Commonly used as a gerund to describe environmental or chemical processes.

Real-World Examples

“These complexes proved difficult to isolate in the lab, often clumping together or degrading before they could be studied.”
Phys.org · 24 Sept 2026
“Now it's also clear that many large, or should I say fat, people suffer cruel and degrading treatment.”
BBC News · 31 May 2015

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference