down ‧ grade /ˈdaʊnɡreɪd/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to make a job less important, or to move someone to a less important job OPP upgrade
2 . to make something seem less important or valuable than it is:
Police often downgrade the seriousness of violence against women in the home.
3 . to state that something is not as serious as it was:
Hurricane Bob has been downgraded to a tropical storm.