degradefrom the root 'grad' (step) + 'de' (down): to treat or regard someone with disrespect; to lower in quality, value, or characterIndustrial pollution continues to degrade the quality of the river water.NoteIndustrial pollution continues to degrade the quality of the river water.Elon.io is an online learning platformWe have an entire course teaching GRE Verbal — Essential Vocabulary grammar and vocabulary.Start learning GRE Verbal — Essential Vocabulary now