degrading
adjective
de·grad·ing
di-ˈgrā-diŋ 
dē-
: causing or associated with a low, destitute, or demoralized state : causing someone to be or feel degraded
a degrading experience
… a work about a young man full of bottled rage looking for a degrading job …—
Penelope Gilliatt
Penelope Gilliatt… any cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment of detainees was absolutely forbidden …—David Cole
David Cole
degradingly
di-ˈgrā-diŋ-lē
adverb
dē-
"I hate to be poor, and we are degradingly poor, offensively poor, miserably poor, beastly poor."
—Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
When employees are treated degradingly by their manager, they respond with decreased motivation, commitment, loyalty, and productivity.
—Ken Lloyd
Ken Lloyd
Examples of degrading in a Sentence
made degrading comments about his so-called friend behind his back
Recent Examples on the Web
The draconian rules imposed upon women and girls in Afghanistan are strictly enforced with those objecting being threatened, beaten, detained and subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment in detention.
—Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Threats like inversion, theft and evasion can alter AI models, risking intellectual property theft and degrading model reliability.
—Christian Espinosa, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Incentives for employees to resign or retire could lead to a loss of experienced staff, further degrading service quality.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
Drill sergeants now minimize their use of profanity, insults and degrading remarks and strive to become support figures for trainees.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrading
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Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes.com, 13 Apr. 2025
Threats like inversion, theft and evasion can alter AI models, risking intellectual property theft and degrading model reliability.
—Christian Espinosa, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025
Incentives for employees to resign or retire could lead to a loss of experienced staff, further degrading service quality.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025
Drill sergeants now minimize their use of profanity, insults and degrading remarks and strive to become support figures for trainees.
—Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degrading
Cite this Entry
“Degrading.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/degrading. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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