WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Deg`ra*da"tion
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [LL. degradatio, from degradare: cf. F. d?gradation. See Degrade.]
Definition : 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 bishop. He 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 sidegradation 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.)

Defn: A gradual wearing down or wasting, as of rocks and banks, by the action of water, fro

5. (Biol.)

Defn: 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.)

Defn: Arrest of development, or degeneration of any organ, or of the body as a whole. Degradation of energy, or Dissipation of energy (Physics), the transformation of energy into some form in which it is less available for doing work.

Syn. -- Abasement; debasement; reduction; decline.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913