[dɪˈɡreɪd], (Verb)

Definitions:
- treat or regard (someone) with contempt or disrespect
(e.g: she thought that many supposedly erotic pictures degraded women)

- break down or deteriorate chemically
(e.g: the bacteria will degrade hydrocarbons)


Phrases:

Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French degrader, from ecclesiastical Latin degradare, from de- ‘down, away from’ + Latin gradus ‘step or grade’