Dēg'ra-dā'tion, n.
n. [L. Lat. degradatio, from degradare; Fr. dégradation, Sp. degradacion, It. degradazione. See DEGRADE.]
Sense 1. The act of reducing in rank, character, or reputation, or of abasing; deposition; diminution; as, the degradation of a peer, a knight, or a bishop.
Sense 2. The state of being reduced in rank, character, or reputation; baseness; degeneracy; disgrace; abasement. “The misery and degradation of a needy man of letters.” Macaulay.
Deplorable is the degradation of our nature. South.
Sense 3. Diminution or reduction of strength, efficacy, or value.
Sense 4. (Geol.) A gradual wearing down or wasting, as of rocks, banks, and the like, by the action of water, frost, &c.
Sense 5. (Nat. Hist.) The state or condition of a type which exhibits degraded forms, species, or groups.
The degradation of the species man is observed in some of its varieties. Dana.
Synonyms—Abasement; debasement; reduction; decline.