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Degrade vs Berate - What's the difference?

degrade | berate |

In transitive terms the difference between degrade and berate

is that degrade is to lower in value or social position while berate is to chide or scold vehemently.

degrade

English

Verb

(degrad)
  • To lower in value or social position.
  • Fred degrades himself by his behaviour.
  • * Palfrey
  • Prynne was sentenced by the Star Chamber Court to be degraded from the bar.
  • To reduce in quality or purity.
  • The DNA sample has degraded .
  • (geology) To reduce in altitude or magnitude, as hills and mountains; to wear down.
  • Derived terms

    * degradation

    berate

    English

    Verb

    (berat)
  • To chide or scold vehemently.
  • * 1896 , , Seats Of The Mighty , ch. 13:
  • Gabord, still muttering, turned to us again, and began to berate the soldiers for their laziness.
  • * 1914 , , The Gods of Mars , ch. 21:
  • A thousand times I berated myself for being drawn into such a trap as I might have known these pits easily could be.
  • * 1917 , , Jerry of the Islands , ch. 14:
  • Lenerengo, as usual, forgot everything else in the fiercer pleasure of berating her spouse.
  • * 2008 , Alex Perry, " The Man Who Would Be (Congo's) King," Time , 27 Nov.:
  • During the rally, he berates the crowd for their cowardice.
  • * 2011 , Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/15210221.stm]
  • France were supposedly a team in pieces, beaten by Tonga just a week ago and with coach Marc Lievremont publicly berating his players, but so clear-cut was their victory that much of the atmosphere had been sucked from the contest long before the end.

    Synonyms

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