DEGRADATION

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does degradation mean? 

• DEGRADATION (noun)
  The noun DEGRADATION has 2 senses:

1. changing to a lower state (a less respected state)

2. a low or downcast state

  Familiarity information: DEGRADATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEGRADATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Changing to a lower state (a less respected state)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

debasement; degradation

Hypernyms ("degradation" is a kind of...):

change of state (the act of changing something into something different in essential characteristics)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "degradation"):

dehumanisation; dehumanization (the act of degrading people with respect to their best qualities)

animalisation; animalization; brutalisation; brutalization (an act that makes people cruel or lacking normal human qualities)

barbarisation; barbarization (an act that makes people primitive and uncivilized)

bastardisation; bastardization (an act that debases or corrupts)

corruption; subversion (destroying someone's (or some group's) honesty or loyalty; undermining moral integrity)

demoralisation; demoralization (destroying the moral basis for a doctrine or policy)

constipation; deadening; impairment; stultification (the act of making something futile and useless (as by routine))

popularisation; popularization; vulgarisation; vulgarization (the act of making something attractive to the general public)

profanation (degradation of something worthy of respect; cheapening)

abasement; humiliation (depriving one of self-esteem)

vulgarisation; vulgarization (the act of rendering something coarse and unrefined)

Derivation:

degrade (lower the grade of something; reduce its worth)

degrade (reduce in worth or character, usually verbally)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A low or downcast state

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

abasement; abjection; degradation

Context example:

each confession brought her into an attitude of abasement

Hypernyms ("degradation" is a kind of...):

humiliation (state of disgrace or loss of self-respect)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "degradation"):

decadence; decadency; degeneracy; degeneration (the state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities)

depth ((usually plural) a low moral state)

Derivation:

degrade (lower the grade of something; reduce its worth)

degrade (reduce in worth or character, usually verbally)

 Context examples 

MYC boxes I and II, found in the N termini of all members of the MYC protein family, function to direct the degradation of the c-MYC protein.

(MYC Box, NCI Thesaurus)

This gene plays a role in lipid biosynthesis and fatty acid degradation.

(ACSL1 Gene, NCI Thesaurus)

MYB may interact with HIPK2 and NLK; phosphorylation by NLK on multiple sites may induce proteasomal degradation.

(Myb Oncogene Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

Wnt signaling acts as a positive regulator of beta-catenin by inhibiting beta-catenin degradation, which stabilizes beta-catenin, and causes its accumulation.

(Adherens Junction Assembly Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Upon subcutaneous administration, this agent has a half-life of 4-7 days and resists degradation by dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4).

(Albiglutide, NCI Thesaurus)

This protein is involved in the degradation of proteoglycans.

(A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease with Thrombospondin Motifs 9, NCI Thesaurus)

The study does show a positive impact of biogas on decreasing forest degradation.

(Shift to biogas helps revive forests, SciDev.Net)

In yeast, sugar degradation is linked via the intermediate fructose 1,6-biophosphate to the activation of Ras proteins, which stimulate the multiplication of both yeast and cancer cells.

(Scientists Reveal The Relationship Between Sugar, Cancer, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

If this process is inhibited, the LDL receptor is protected against degradation, and the amount of cholesterol in the blood falls.

(Discovery Can Pave the Way for More Effective Cholesterol Medicine, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

"The key is to realize rapid heating; otherwise, the battery will stay at elevated temperatures for too long, causing severe degradation."

(Modern Battery Design Can Charge Electric Car in 10 Minutes, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)