/ ˌdegrəˈdeɪʃn; NAmE / noun [ U ]
1.
a situation in which sb has lost all self-respect and the respect of other people :
the degradation of being sent to prison
2.
( technical ) the process of sth being damaged or made worse :
environmental degradation
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (in the sense deposition from an office or rank as a punishment): from Old French , or from ecclesiastical Latin degradatio(n-) , from the verb degradare , from de- down, away from + Latin gradus step or grade.