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• v  reduce the level of land, as by erosion
• v  reduce in worth or character, usually verbally
• v  lower the grade of something; reduce its worth

• And this pump would degrade at least twice as many wetlands as all of America's developers drain in a typical year, in a waterlogged area with bountiful fisheries, one of the .
• Village Homes is one of the world's best examples of sustainable development--it doesn't degrade the environment that future generations will inherit.
• Authorities in devout Yogyakarta banned Inul from performing, fearing that she would "degrade the morality of the highly civilized and educated residents" of the city.

• take down
• disgrace
• demean
• put down
• cheapen

• aggrade

News & Articles

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• When Market Incentives Undermine Morality
  The Greek philosophers were not entirely wrong about markets. When they reward cooperation, people become more obliging and virtuous -- but markets don’t always reward it. Though on balance they have greatly improved our moral behavior, they can also degrade it.
  June 9, 2013 - Bloomberg

Quotes

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• Barack Obama in Washington Post
  I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies,Obama said. "I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it's on the...
• Jesse Jackson in SI.com
  If he has a right to use that platform to insult and degrade then we have a moral obligation to picket NBC and to protest,Jackson said. "If he can violate us in that platform in the name of free speech we'll be picketing NBC in the name of...