From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdegradationdeg‧ra‧da‧tion /ˌdeɡrəˈdeɪʃən/ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]ASHAMED an experience or situation that makes you feel ashamed and angry a life of poverty and degradation2 [uncountable]WORSE the process by which something changes to a worse condition
Examples from the Corpus
degradation• The report speaks of extensive environmental degradation caused by high population growth, rapid urbanization and fast industrialization.• These factors plus preferential marketing arrangements and external financial support for development projects have all contributed to land degradation.• However, even in advanced capitalist countries, the economic effect of degradation and erosion may not be negligible.• I can feel a sizable sense of sorrow for people who have sunk to such degradation.• Vallejo told the intimate story of the degradation that Royce had deplored only from the outside.• The result is a membrane that is resistant to water, weather, ultra-violet degradation, fire and chemical attack.• What path of audio-visual degradation are you happily leading me down this time? 