noun1. the act of degrading or the state of being degraded
2. a state of degeneration, squalor, or poverty
3. some act, constraint, etc, that is degrading
4. the wearing down of the surface of rocks, cliffs, etc, by erosion, weathering, or some other process
5. chemistrya breakdown of a molecule into atoms or smaller molecules
6. physicsan irreversible process in which the energy available to do work is decreased
7. Roman Catholic Churchthe permanent unfrocking of a priest