Meaning & use

degrading

adjective·Academic

Causing a loss of dignity or self-respect; humiliating.

See it in a sentence

The prisoners were subjected to degrading treatment that violated basic human rights.

She found the job's strict uniform rules degrading and quit within a week.

A note on using this word

Degrading describes treatment or conditions that strip away a person's dignity and is common in discussions of human rights and workplace ethics.

Words with a similar meaning

humiliatingdemeaning

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

dignifying

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