degradation
/ˌdɛɡrəˈdeɪʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun]
1The condition or process of degrading or being degraded: a trail of human misery and degradation...
- This riveting drama speaks to our souls with its incessant probes into the importance of human choice and the degradations brought on by self-destructiveness.
- It is ironic that these recent degradations of traditional citizenry have followed a period of 50 years unparalleled advance in the quality of material life.
- Mass movements against the degradations of the free market have developed in every continent.
Synonyms
humiliation, shame, loss of dignity, loss of self-respect, loss of pride, abasement, mortification, indignity, ignominy
demeaning, debasement, cheapening, devaluing, discrediting, dishonouring
deterioration, degeneration, atrophy, decay, wasting away;
breakdown
2 Geology The wearing down of rock by disintegration.Students will measure and model mountain erosion/degradation processes....
- Morphologic analysis of scarp degradation can be used quantitatively to determine relative ages of different scarps formed in cohensionless materials, under the same climatic conditions.
- Previous studies have found that for Quaternary events in arid climates, fault scarp degradation in colluvial material can be used to estimate fault age and earthquake recurrence.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Old French, or from ecclesiastical Latin degradatio(n-), from the verb degradare (see degrade).